The once iconic music-sharing platform Napster has been acquired for $207 million by Infinite Reality. According to Infinite Reality CEO John Acunto, Napster’s capabilities and licenses will be used for “marketing in the metaverse.” The company plans to create virtual 3D spaces with concerts and parties for music lovers, as well as use the platform as a marketplace for musicians and labels.
Image source: Infinite Reality
Infinite Reality has been rapidly expanding its business over the past couple of years. In addition to Napster, the company has previously acquired the Drone Racing League, the metaverse marketing platform Landvault, and the VR shopping platform Obsess. Napster holds multiple streaming licenses for millions of songs, making it an attractive acquisition for Infinite Reality. “We’re expanding and reimagining Napster to provide artists with new monetization and audience engagement opportunities,” Acunto said.
Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos is confident that the purchase will allow artists to create “crazy environments that are really only limited by their imagination.” He described as an example a reggae artist who could enjoy a virtual beach environment. According to Acunto, “it will be like Clubhouse [a virtual events app that has become popular during the pandemic — ed.] multiplied by a trillion.”
Music-sharing platform Napster launched in 1999 and enjoyed incredible popularity, but in 2001, following a series of lawsuits, it declared bankruptcy. Napster then changed hands over the next 25 years, gradually losing its former glory.
In 2002, Napster was acquired by Roxio and relaunched as an e-commerce site selling music files. In 2008, the platform was acquired by Best Buy and then resold to Rhapsody in 2011, which ran the service until 2022, when it was acquired by a consortium of blockchain companies led by Hivemind and Algorand.
Now, perhaps, a new era is dawning for Napster. “When we think about customers who have an audience — influencers, creators — it’s really important that they have a connected space around music and music communities,” Acunto said. “We just don’t see anyone in the streaming space creating spaces for music.”