Pressplay

PressPlay was a digital music subscription service launched in December 2001 as a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Originally announced as 'Duet' in April 2001 and rebranded as pressplay in June 2001, the service allowed users to stream and download songs under a monthly subscription model with heavy digital rights management restrictions. Widely criticized for its restrictive terms, PressPlay and rival MusicNet were named among PC World's '25 Worst Tech Products of All Time' in 2006. The service operated until May 2003, when Roxio acquired it for $12.5 million and used it as the foundation to relaunch the Napster brand.