By David Mouriquand
Napster, the brand forever linked with music piracy before its reinvention as a subscription service, has been purchased by Infinite Reality for $207 million (€192m). The tech startup intends to transition Napster into a social music platform where artists can engage with fans and enhance their monetization strategies.
“The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era,” remarked Jon Vlassopulos, CEO of Napster. “Yet, music streaming has remained largely the same. It’s time to reimagine what’s possible.”
Infinite Reality has plans to revamp Napster by developing virtual 3D spaces for fans to attend concerts. These spaces will also offer musicians and labels the opportunity to retail both digital and physical merchandise. Furthermore, artists will have access to an expanded suite of metrics and analytics to better understand user behavior on the platform.
Amish Shah, Infinite Reality’s Chief Business Officer, stated, “We can think of no better use case for our technology than putting it in the hands of music artists who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.”
Napster’s history dates back to 1999, when it was launched by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. It quickly became the first prominent peer-to-peer file-sharing application, ushering in an era of piracy software and applications, including LimeWire. Napster filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and ceased operations following lawsuits by the record industry and the band Metallica, who alleged copyright violations. Rhapsody acquired the brand in 2011 and relaunched it as a music streaming service.
