Napster, a P1999P music sharing platform co-created by American college students Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker in 2, was earlier acquired by Infinite Reality, a company focused on innovative technology and immersive entertainment experiences.Acquired for US$2.07 million.
Infinite Reality CEO John Acunto said that Napster will be used for metaverse content in the future, including the establishment of a virtual 3D communication space for music lovers, as well as a platform for music creators and record companies to sell music-related products.
Napster's current CEO Jon Vlassopulos said the acquisition will enable creators to create music scenarios that are more in line with their imaginations, allowing music lovers to experience the music atmosphere in a more immersive virtual environment.
In addition to the Napster acquisition, Infinite Reality has also acquired the metaverse marketing platform Landvault, the virtual reality shopping platform Obsess, and the Drone Racing League (DRL), founded in 2015, in the past few years. It also expects to gain additional user cohesion through the acquisition of Napster.
Although Napster became the "ancestor" of current online music platforms, it also seriously affected music copyright issues at the time. It subsequently declared bankruptcy in 2001 and was acquired by software company Roxio in 2002, making it a platform for selling legal digital music content again. In 2008, it was sold to US retail channel Best Buy, and then in 2011 it was sold again to music streaming service provider Rhapsody. It was subsequently acquired by investment institution Hivemind and blockchain company Algorand in 2022.
Napster currently owns the online playback licenses for millions of songs, so this acquisition is more beneficial to Infinite Reality, and it is expected to create a more disruptive experience through Napster's assets.
