Napster, the original P2P file sharing service, just sold for $207 million

In brief: Ownership of Napster is changing hands once again. The company, which started life as a peer-to-peer file sharing service more than 25 years ago, is being purchased by Infinite Reality for $207 million. The immersive technology specialist plans to transform Napster from a legitimate streaming music service into a social and interactive music platform.

Napster’s claim to fame came near the turn of the century. The file sharing service made it trivially easy for the average Joe to share and download copyrighted music with others online, threatening the livelihood of artists and record labels. Legal issues proved to be Napster’s undoing, with the service shutting down in 2001 before filing for bankruptcy a year later.

Napster’s story did not end there, however, as its assets and brand name would be passed around to multiple owners over subsequent years. Roxio, for example, purchased Napster’s assets at auction and used them to rebrand its existing music service. Best Buy later acquired the brand’s rights, and went on to work out a deal with Rhapsody for a branded streaming service.

That brings us to present day, and Infinite Reality’s $207 million acquisition of Napster.

The new owner said it aims to differentiate Napster from rivals by prioritizing fan engagement over passive listening and allow artists to better connect with and monetize their relationship with listeners. Using its tools, artists will be able to create virtual concerts and social listening parties (think the Travis Scott Fortnite concert during the pandemic), sell digital content, leverage AI for customer service, sales, and community management, and more.

Infinite Reality CEO John Acunto said the acquisition aligns with their vision of leading an internet industry shift from a flat 2D clickable web to a 3D conversational one.

Existing Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos will stick around after the sale and continue his leadership role. Vlassopulos was appointed chief executive in 2022 and helped lead a restructuring effort. Before joining Napster, he served as head of global music for Roblox.