In 1999, Napster launched as peer-to-peer MP3 trading software. The company got sued by the RIAA (and, famously, Metallica) for widespread copyright infringement in 2020, and went bankrupt in 2022. Now, the brand has been bought by Metaverse company Infinite Reality for $207 million with plans to make it "a social and interactive music platform."
This is Napster's third time changing hands in five years. In 2003, Napster's assets were acquired by Roxio, who relaunched Napster as a streaming service. Napster 2.0, as it was called, never gained traction and was bought by Best Buy in 2008 and then by rival Rhapsody in 2011, which rebranded itself as Napster in 2016. In 2020 Napster was acquired by virtual reality concerts company MelodyVR and in 2022 by the crypto and blockchain companies Hivemind and Algorand, who sought to "bring the iconic music brand to web3."
Infinite Reality's plans include virtual 3D spaces for concerts, listening parties, and other community-based events for music. Musicians and labels will be able to sell digital and physical merchandise, and artists will receive metrics and analytics to better understand the behavior of platform users.
Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos' role at the company will continue. “The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era,” he said in a statement. “Yet music streaming has remained largely the same. It’s time to reimagine what’s possible.”
“By acquiring Napster, we’re paving a path to a brighter future for artists, fans, and the music industry at large,” John Acunto, co-founder and CEO of Infinite Reality, said. “This strategic move aligns with Infinite Reality’s vision to lead an internet industry shift from a flat 2D clickable web to a 3D conversational one — giving all creators modern tools to better engage, monetize, and measure their audiences.”
