Canada Adds Napster to List of Things America Wishes it Had

Nostalgic Canadian music fans can rejoice as the return of Napster, the infamous user-to-user downloading platform of yore, makes its comeback in Canada as a fully-loaded streaming service.

As some might recall, Napster had a long running feud with surly, leather-faced axe-jockeys, Metallica, before the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) pulled the plug on it back in 2001.

The company subsequently went through a series of transformations before disappearing completely from the Canadian marketplace in 2011, when it was bought by US-owned corporation Rhapsody International.

Now, boasting both online streaming and offline playback of over 35 million songs, Napster is tossing its sweat-stained Kangol hat into the ring with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and, sigh, Tidal.

In an attempt to re-build its Canadian rapport, Napster is providing hand-picked playlists based around local artists, including Drake, Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd, and Alessia Cara.

Company CFO Ethan Rudin told the Hollywood Reporter, "It was important to us that we enter Canada with a personalized music experience that has a complete catalog of local, national, and international artists."

The service is offering just one dollar for three months of free listening, followed by a regular $9.99/month fee—comparable to both Apple and Spotify.

Between Napster's resurrection and Trudeau's pending weed legalization, 2016 looks to be a lot like 8th grade all over again.

Adelaide is on Twitter.