Roxio reshuffles Napster management team

The moves follows a statement from Roxio in December that it would "decrease substantially" Napster-related spending as it moves further away from its October launch quarter.

Although the firm's software division will remain in Santa Clara, the company plans to consolidate corporate functions and senior management teams into Napster's Los Angeles office.

Mike Bebel, Napster's president, who came to the company through Roxio's acquisition of the Pressplay subscription service last year, will be leaving the company after a "transitional period" and will be replaced by Roxio's head of worldwide development, Brad Duea.

"It [the reshuffle] will be yielding cost savings, but its primarily being driven to get the senior management in one place instead of three cities," said Roxio's chairman and CEO Chris Gorog.

The balance of the Napster senior staff will remain in place and report to Duea in LA.

The digital media group said in December that it expected fourth quarter sales of $3.5m for its online music business, compared with $1.5m in revenue in the preceding quarter.

The company relaunched the infamous Napster brand, snapped up for a bargain price last year, as a legal online music service in October 2003.

Napster has a number of "exciting" initiatives underway in the coming year, according to Gorog, including prepaid retail cards and the Napster BurnPack, which should all positively impact Napster's financial results in early 2004.

16 January 2004:

15 December 2003:

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