Napster's $207 Million Acquisition: A New Chapter in Music and Metaverse Integration

Napster Is Still Worth $200 Million in 2025, for Some Reason

Napster joins a long line of zombified legacy brands reanimated to sell dubious digital services. The original Napster went out of business in 2001 but, despite its short, fiery life and premature, litigation-fueled death, it has soldiered on throughout the years, thanks largely to newer tech companies that are eager to capitalize on the legendary music platform's brand. Case in point: This month, Napster was sold for $207 million to a Metaverse company, Infinite Reality. On its website, Infinite Reality says it sells AI and XR services to companies and governments, including something called iR Studio, which offers users the ability to create "a 3D website with no coding skills." What does Infinite plan to do with Napster? The company says it will "expand and reimagine Napster, empowering artists with new audience monetization and engagement capabilities, underpinned by iR’s immersive technology, AI-powered tools, and audience network." What does that actually mean? The firm's press release states that it plans to "transform Napster beyond streaming into a social and interactive music platform, leveraging its immersive technology and audience network of digitally native fans." That apparently means that the company is going to allow fans to attend concerts digitally via "virtual 3D spaces," and will also give artists the opportunity to sell digital and physical merchandise to fans, according to the Associated Press. Napster rose to prominence as one of the first peer-to-peer file sharing platforms during the early days of the Internet. Co-founded in 1999 by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker (who would go on to become an early investor in, and then first president of, Facebook), the platform allowed users to share MP3 files of their favorite music. Unfortunately, Napster's freewheeling ways inevitably led to substantial music piracy and, as a result, lawsuits, which ultimately led it to shut down in 2001. Napster was previously purchased in 2022 by two web3 companies, Hivemind and Algorand, which set the platform on a humiliating path towards crypto integration. As such, the music-sharing platform joins a harem of prominent brands that have been resurrected for the purposes of web3 promotion. Other unlucky members of that group include the likes of RadioShack (which was purchased by a crypto company in 2022), GameStop (which famously led to the WallStreetBets fiasco) and Limewire.

The Napster sale is all about name recognition

That's how much artificial intelligence and extended reality company Infinite Reality purchased the former file-sharing service for on Tuesday. Under its new ownership, Infinite Reality said Napster will become a virtual concert venue that sells physical and virtual merchandise to musicians' super fans and is capable of hosting social listening parties and gamifying fan engagement and loyalty. "By acquiring Napster, we're paving a path to a brighter future for artists, fans, and the music industry at large," Infinite Reality CEO John Acunto said in a statement. "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." The bet is the Napster brand has some life left in it still, but the new owners face a challenge. The recent history of Napster shows it's hard to buy an old brand for parts and transfer its nostalgic goodwill to a new but related service.

Pirating pioneer Napster sells for $207M with plans for music metaverse

AI startup Infinite Reality has bought the former music-sharing platform Napster with plans to add a music-focused metaverse to the music-streaming app. Artificial intelligence startup Infinite Reality has acquired the music-pirating app turned music streaming service Napster in a $207 million deal and plans to add a music-focused metaverse. Infinite Reality said in a March 25 statement that Napster would offer "branded 3D virtual spaces" to allow virtual concerts and "social listening parties" along with the ability to offer virtual merchandise. "Imagine stepping into a virtual venue to watch an exclusive show with friends, chat with your favorite artist in their own virtual hangout as they drop their new single, and be able to directly buy their exclusive digital and physical merch," said Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos, who will continue in his role amid the acquisition. "The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era," he added. Infinite Reality added that it also plans for Napster to allow musicians to use AI customer and community management agents and analytics dashboards to track fan behavior and cross-promotion with its other entertainment properties, such as Esports teams. Napster was a pioneer in piracy, launching in 1999 as a peer-to-peer (P2P) filing-sharing service mostly for music. It shuttered in 2001, buried by a court order after a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits. The now-bankrupt company sold its brand, which was relaunched as a music-streaming service before bouncing between owners for the next 20 years. The blockchain firm Algorand and crypto investment firm Hivemind most recently bought it in 2022. Related: Here's what musicians actually think of tokenizing content in Web3 Napster had made several moves in the Web3 space, announcing plans in June 2022 to launch its own Napster token on the Algorand blockchain that could be used to buy music subscriptions and other content. The brand also bought Web3 music startup Mint Songs in February 2023. John Acunto, co-founder and CEO of Infinite Reality, said the team hopes to lead an "internet industry shift from a flat 2D clickable web to a 3D conversational one." Infinite Reality says the acquisition of Napster is slated to close in a few weeks. According to the firm, it hopes to evolve the Napster brand to become the leading immersive music platform for artists, fans and curators through audience monetization and engagement capabilities.

Napster sold to Infinite Reality with eyes on creating 'the ultimate music platform'

Paramount Plus' new docuseries on the dawn of online piracy and its effect on the music industry "How Music Got Free" starts streaming on June 11th. Napster, formerly a peer-to-peer file-sharing application founded in 1999, has been sold to Infinite Reality, a digital media and e-commerce company, for $207 million. Infinite Reality announced the deal on Tuesday, saying it plans to "expand and reimagine Napster" into a social and interactive music platform that empowers artists by using audience monetization and engagement tools, immersive technology, artificial intelligence, and its audience network. "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 on Tuesday. "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... We're creating the ultimate music platform where artists can thrive in the next wave of digital disruption." Napster, which became an independent digital music service, has offered over 110 million songs from some of the world's top artists to its global subscriber base. According to Infinite Reality, Napster has paid over $1 billion to artists and songwriters worldwide over the past two decades. Infinite Reality's entertainment assets include the Drone Racing League and esports organizations competing in popular video game titles, such as "Call of Duty" and "League of Legends." What will Napster look like going forward? Napster's acquisition will not change the music service's leadership as Jon Vlassopulos will continue as CEO while taking on a broader role for Infinite Reality globally. Vlassopulos was appointed CEO of Napster in 2022. "Napster revolutionized digital music in the nineties, and now, with Infinite Reality, we're ready to do it again," Vlassopulos said on Tuesday. "The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era. Yet, music streaming has remained largely the same. It's time to reimagine what's possible." "Imagine stepping into a virtual venue to watch an exclusive show with friends, chat with your favorite artist in their own virtual hangout as they drop their new single, and be able to directly buy their exclusive digital and physical merch." Napster survived copyright lawsuits, bankruptcy Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Napster faced several lawsuits from musical artists and record labels, including rock band Metallica, rapper and producer Dr. Dre, A&M Records and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The lawsuits were filed over leaked songs and copyright infringement claims. In the RIAA's 1999 copyright lawsuit against Napster, the music recording company described the service as "a safe haven for piracy," as detailed in "All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster" by Joseph Menn. The RIAA's suit sought $100,000 for each copyright-protected song shared over the network, or around $100 million, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. The lawsuits resulted in Napster closing down its service in July 2001. The following year, the service filed for bankruptcy and sold its assets to software maker Roxio, which brought it back in 2003 as a subscription service. Napster also settled with songwriters and music publishers, agreeing to pay them $26 million for past and unauthorized uses of music.

Infinite Reality Acquires Iconic Music Service Napster

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter NEW YORK, March 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinite Reality™ (iR), an innovation company powering the next generation of digital media and ecommerce through extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), and other immersive technologies, announced today the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the iconic online music brand Napster for $207 million. Napster, a fully-licensed independent music service, delivers over 110 million high fidelity tracks from the top artists in the world to its loyal global subscriber base. Over the past two decades Napster has paid over $1 billion to artists and songwriters worldwide, establishing itself as a cornerstone of the music streaming industry and the longest operating digital music service. Infinite Reality plans to transform Napster beyond streaming into a social and interactive music platform, leveraging its immersive technology and audience network of digitally native fans. This includes the millions engaged with iR's entertainment assets, such as the Drone Racing League (DRL) and top esports organizations competing in titles like Call of Duty and League of Legends. The newly-reimagined Napster will differentiate itself from competitors by serving as a social music platform that prioritizes active fan engagement over passive listening, allowing artists to connect with, own, and monetize the relationship with their fans. Through this acquisition, Napster and Infinite Reality plan to offer artists the tools to: Create branded 3D virtual spaces where fans can enjoy virtual concerts, social listening parties, and other immersive and community-based experiencesSell both physical and virtual merchandise, exclusive digital content, and event ticketsLeverage AI-powered customer service, sales, and community management agents for greater personalizationAccess enhanced analytics dashboards to better understand fan behaviorIntegrate gamification to increase fan engagement and loyaltyLeverage iR's audience network -- including DRL and top esports teams -- to seamlessly cross-promote and bridge fan communitiesOffer brands innovative sponsorships that connect with millions of young, digitally savvy consumers "By acquiring Napster, we're paving a path to a brighter future for artists, fans, and the music industry at large," said John Acunto, Co-Founder and CEO of Infinite Reality. "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. I firmly believe that the artist-fan relationship is evolving, with fans craving hyper-personalized, intimate access to their favorite artists, while artists are searching for innovative ways to deepen connections with fans, and access new streams of revenue. We're creating the ultimate music platform where artists can thrive in the next wave of digital disruption." As part of this acquisition, Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos will continue as CEO of Napster, and will take on a broader role for iR globally. Appointed CEO of Napster in 2022, Vlassopulos oversaw the restructuring of the company and led its evolution into new business areas, driving innovation in artist-fan engagement and next-generation immersive music experiences. Previously, he served as Vice President and Global Head of Music at Roblox, where he pioneered immersive experiences for leading artists and brands that reached over 100 million fans, driving tens of millions of dollars of net new revenue for the music industry. Vlassopulos started his career as an executive at BMG and invested in the original Napster when he was at Bertelsmann. A seasoned entrepreneur, executive, and investor, he has a track record of delivering industry firsts that sit at the intersection of technology, music, gaming, entertainment, and marketing. "Napster revolutionized digital music in the nineties, and now, with Infinite Reality, we're ready to do it again. The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era. Yet, music streaming has remained largely the same. It's time to reimagine what's possible," said Jon Vlassopulos, CEO of Napster. "Imagine stepping into a virtual venue to watch an exclusive show with friends, chat with your favorite artist in their own virtual hangout as they drop their new single, and be able to directly buy their exclusive digital and physical merch. With Infinite Reality's expertise in immersive 3D technology, we will transform Napster into a next-generation platform where fans don't just listen on their own -- they experience music in entirely new ways. This isn't just a new chapter for Napster, it's the beginning of a more interactive and social music experience for the next era of the internet." "We are delighted that Napster is now going to be a part of Infinite Reality, validating a new paradigm for music and media," said Steve Kokinos, co-founder of Algorand and Chairman of the Board of Napster. "We always believed in Jon's long held vision and experience from Roblox that the next frontier of digital music and super fan experiences will be more immersive, more social, and more shoppable. Excited to see what they create together!" "As we think about leading a sectoral shift from 2D web to 3D web, no other community is more critical than creators who are always at the forefront of leveraging innovation to express themselves and disrupt legacy systems," said Amish Shah, Chief Business Officer of Infinite Reality. "The endurance of the Napster brand stands as a testament to its resilience, and we are honored to build upon its pioneering spirit and unparalleled expertise in the music industry. 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." Founded in 1999, Napster forever changed the music industry with its peer-to-peer file sharing technology, giving fans their first access to digital music and digital music communities. After being acquired by Rhapsody, the first legal music streaming service licensed by all the recognized major record labels, Napster evolved into a leading independent digital music service, with access to more than 110 million tracks, available in 34 countries. Together, Infinite Reality and Napster plan to evolve the brand even further, becoming the leading immersive music platform for artists, fans, and curators. About Infinite Reality Infinite Reality (iR)™ is an innovation company powering the next generation of digital media and ecommerce through spatial computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and other immersive technologies. iR's suite of cutting-edge software, production, marketing services, and other capabilities empower brands and creators to craft inventive digital experiences that uplevel audience engagement, data ownership, monetization, and brand health metrics. The company is backed by an impressive roster of investors including RSE Ventures, Liberty Media, Lux Capital, Lerer Hippeau, MGM, T-Mobile Ventures, Courtside VC, Exor, Terracap, IAC, Live Nation, as well as notable individuals such as Steve Aoki, Imagine Dragons, NBA player Rudy Gobert, and globally-ranked tennis player Taylor Fritz. For more information, visit theinfinitereality.com. About Napster In 1999, Napster changed the music industry forever when it launched the world's first peer-to-peer music sharing service. Peaking at 85M users, for many, Napster was not only their first experience of digital music but also their first real social media experience. Napster went on to be combined with Rhapsody, resulting in the first legal $9.99 music streaming service. Operational now for 20+ years, Napster is currently available in 34 countries and across a wide range of connected devices from computers to cars. Napster is now once again poised to revolutionize the music industry, evolving music streaming from being an access-based monthly subscription model to a social music platform and marketplace that connects artists and fans, unlocking unprecedented new creative and commercial opportunities. For more information, visit Napster.com. Infinite Reality [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ca24a139-8673-4c28-ae9c-161b6ecebcad Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Napster Finds New Owners in $200M Acquisition

Garcia's, New Venue Honoring Grateful Dead Legend, Opens in Chicago Napster, the brand that ushered in an era of rampant music piracy before later being reborn as a subscription music streaming platform, has been sold for $207 million. Tech company Infinite Reality announced Tuesday morning that it bought Napster in the nine-figure deal, hoping to further transform Napster from merely a streaming service into a more social-first music platform where fans can more directly engage with music and artists. To be clear, the current iteration of Napster is far removed from the brand's infamous origin as a peer-to-peer file exchange. The original Napster went under in the early 2000s, and the streaming service Rhapsody bought the brand in 2011, resurrecting the name as it rebranded as Napster in 2016. Napster isn't the only controversial music service of its era that's resurfaced for other music uses; Limewire also made a comeback in recent years, currently offering an AI music generation platform along with an AI image generator. Since the Rhapsody rebrand, the Napster had become a sort of acquisition magnet to companies pursuing tech trends that had been en vogue in the past several years. MelodyVR, a virtual reality company, purchased Napster in 2020 during the pandemic for $70 million, hoping to turn the platform into a hybrid music and live-streaming platform. By 2022, the cryptocurrency companies Hivemind and Algorand bought Napster, focusing on a web3 and blockchain play. Infinite Reality, for its part, described itself in a press release as "an innovation company powering the next generation of digital media and ecommerce through extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), and other immersive technologies." Infinite Reality isn't the first company in the past several years hoping to take on the infamous Napster name and try to morph the brand to shake up the music business, and so far, none have panned out. Still, the company's broader goal to more directly monetize fandom does reflect an increasing line of thought in the music industry, as more stakeholders are focusing offerings for "superfans" who've shown outsized demand for content from their favorite artists. Infinite Reality hopes to make a splash, citing offerings such as physical and digital merch sales, AI-powered customer service, and metaverse-like virtual spaces for fans to congregate for concerts or listening parties. Infinite Reality also owns a Drone Racing League and esports teams that compete in League of Legends and Call of Duty; the company said it'd be using those platforms to push the music too. "I firmly believe that the artist-fan relationship is evolving, with fans craving hyper-personalized, intimate access to their favorite artists, while artists are searching for innovative ways to deepen connections with fans, and access new streams of revenue," John Acunto, Co-Founder and CEO of Infinite Reality, said in a statement. "We're creating the ultimate music platform where artists can thrive in the next wave of digital disruption." Per the release, to date the Napster streaming service has paid out more than $1 billion in royalties to artists and songwriters. Jon Vlassopulos, who joined Napster as CEO in 2022, will continue to serve in his chief executive role. Prior to joining Napster, Vlassopulos was the head of music for the popular video game Roblox, where he helped launch virtual concerts for artists including Lil Nas X and Twenty One Pilots. "Napster revolutionized digital music in the nineties, and now, with Infinite Reality, we're ready to do it again," Vassopulos said in a statement. "Imagine stepping into a virtual venue to watch an exclusive show with friends, chat with your favorite artist in their own virtual hangout as they drop their new single, and be able to directly buy their exclusive digital and physical merch. With Infinite Reality's expertise in immersive 3D technology, we will transform Napster into a next-generation platform where fans don't just listen on their own -- they experience music in entirely new ways."