It’s a sad day for fans of old school file-sharing, as Napster is no more.
Starting yesterday, Napster officially began merging with Rhapsody, the largest on-demand music service in the United States. Back in October, Best Buy, the parent company of Napster, agreed to sale to Rhapsody for an undisclosed amount of money.
“This deal will further extend Rhapsody’s lead over our competitors in the growing on-demand music market,” said Jon Irwin, president, Rhapsody. “There’s substantial value in bringing Napster’s subscribers and robust IP portfolio to Rhapsody as we execute on our strategy to expand our business via direct acquisition of members and distribution deals.”
Combining the subscriber bases of the two largest on-demand music services will allow Rhapsody to further enhance it’s offerings, and try their damnedest to stay ahead of Spotify (where Napster co-founder, Sean Parker, is a major investor). According to Adam Parness, the senior director of music licensing for Rhapsody, they’ve seen an increase in subscriptions for the service since Spotify came state side. “We have seen tremendous growth since spotify came onto U.S. soil,” he said. “It validates our model.”
It’s unclear how many subscribers Rhapsody gained, seeing how the merger is now complete.
What are some of your memories of Napster? Will it be remembered fondly? Let us know your thoughts in the comment area below.
