Napster has been sold for a whopping $207million over 20 years after being shut down.
Napster, founded in 1999, was a peer-to-peer file sharing platform that infamously kicked off a wave of pirating software and applications, later followed by the likes of LimeWire and ThePirateBay.
Later that year, Napster was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials, and Metallica infamously sued the platform in 2000. In 2002, Napster filed for bankruptcy, and along with its court order, was shut down. In 2011, Napster was purchased by Rhapsody and relaunched as a paid streaming service. Rhapsody rebranded itself to Napster in 2016.
While Napster’s streaming service is still active today, boasting over 110million licensed tracks and is available across 34 countries, it has been unable to compete with the likes of Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube and other streaming platforms.
Now, more than 20 years after its initial shuttering, Napster has been sold to immersive technology company Infinite Reality for US$207million.
Per a Variety report, a deal was struck on Tuesday (March 25), with Infinite Reality outlining its plans to reintroduce Napster as a whole new experience. Besides relaunching Napster as a music streaming service, Infinite Reality is seeking to reform it as “a social music platform that prioritises active fan engagement over passive listening” and will let artists “connect with, own and monetise the relationship with their fans.”
Among the changes being made to Napster are the planned implementations of virtual 3D spaces for fans to attend concerts, giving musicians or labels the ability to sell digital and physical merchandise. Artists will also receive a wider range of metrics and analytics to better understand the behaviour of platform users.
John Acunto, co-founder and CEO of Infinite Reality said, via Variety: “By acquiring Napster, we’re paving a path to a brighter future for artists, fans, and the music industry at large. 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.”