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Napster launches digital music service in Germany
MUMBAI: Digital music brand Napster has launched its digital music service across Germany.
Napster Germany positions itself as the first and only subscription music service available to music fans across the region. German residents can download Napster for free at www.napster.de, where they can also sign up for a free seven-day trial of the service.
The launch of Napster Germany follows the completion of agreements with the country’s major record labels, as well as over 150 independent labels. These agreements allow Napster to deliver more than 125,000 albums — including 20,000 German albums — and music from over 600,000 artists — including 135,000 local acts — spanning all genres,
including rock, pop, hip-hop, R&B, classical and jazz.
Napster Germany features over 1.5 million songs and offers both the Napster subscription service as well as the Napster To Go portable subscription service. German music fans can also purchase songs and albums a la carte from the Napster Light download store, where they can also listen to free 30-second samples of all the songs in the Napster catalogue.
Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog says, “Napster is very pleased to bring the biggest brand in on-line music to the number one music market in Continental Europe. We believe German music fans will be very excited to see where we have taken the original genius of Napster and expanded on the ideas of unlimited music discovery and sharing.”
Napster Germany VP, GM Thorsten Schliesche says, “It is very exciting for Napster to bring the first flat rate music service to Germany as we believe this will soon be the preferred experience for digital music fans. A flat rate for unlimited music discovery is a much greater value than 99 euro cents downloads and is quite simply a lot more fun.”
Napster Germany already claims to have a number of business partnerships with brands, including Germany’s consumer electronics goods retailer, MakroMart; Trekstor, the biggest MP3 player manufacturer, which is bundling its i.beat reload player with a six-month Napster To Go subscription in retail outlets across the country; and television broadcaster SAT1, with which it has an exclusive music service partnership.
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Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
