It should come as little surprise to digital music fanboys that Napster, long rumored to be looking for the door, has hired investment banking firm UBS to "assist in evaluation of strategic alternatives".

My pocket "finance-to-english" dictionary says that means they're sticking a for sale sign in the yard and slapping a new coat of paint on the living room. According to the press release Nand Gangwani, Napster's CFO, said, "Napster has a strong balance sheet with a healthy cash position of $97 million as of the close of the first quarter and we are currently generating annual revenues in excess of $100 million. For the second half of our fiscal year, we project a strong up-tick in subscription growth from a base of more than half a million subscribers and a significant expansion of our mobile business, including the addition of new tier one wireless partners. "

"Strong balance sheet" may be an overstatement, with Napster still losing 9.8 million dollars as a result of operations for the second quarter of 2006.