Online music retailer Napster Inc. says its fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed by nearly 50 percent, beating Wall Street estimates.

Napster said Wednesday it posted a loss of $4.3 million, or 10 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31. That compares with a loss of $8.5 million, or 20 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose 6 percent to $30.8 million from $29.1 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 13 cents per share on $30.7 million in revenue.

Napster says it ended the quarter with about 760,000 paid subscribers.

Napster forecast first-quarter revenue will range between $30 million and $31 million, with earnings per share to be relatively flat.

___

On the Net:

Napster Inc.: http://www.napster.com