The best hope for a company like Napster (NSDQ: NAPS) is that the subscription music model really starts to take hold. Indeed the company has said that subscriptions would remain its key focus, even as it jumps into the DRM-free MP3 game. Today the company is unveiling its new download store, which it first promised back in January. It claims that at 6 million DRM-free tracks from all four major labels plus thousands of indies it has the largest selection of any competitor. Pricing looks pretty familiar at $.99 per track and $9.95 per album. And it should go without saying that since they’re MP3s, then yes, they play on the iPod.

So the question is: Assuming the offering is roughly equivalent to the rest of the market, what gets people to switch? That’s going to be tough. It might stem defections from customers that might’ve gone to Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) or iTunes and it might appeal to existing subscription subscribers that occasionally want to purchase a track or an album for keeps. The subscription offering, which is inherently DRM’d, isn’t changing with the new store.

CNET: “The company did make some improvements to its online interface. It now features a “liquid layout,” which resizes everything within both the store and media player windows when you adjust the size of either window. Napster has also improved its download management system so that users can better view what has been purchased already and whether it was ever downloaded after the purchase. Sadly, because of label restrictions, Napster will not be offering any type of trade program for customers who have a library of DRM-protected WMA files that they purchased a la carte. However, the licenses on those files will continue to be supported by the service, so no need to worry about a repeat of the MSN Music scandal. At least not for now.”

• Napster To Convert Download Store To MP3 Only