Napster—now there’s a blast from the past, isn’t it? Once a household name in the music sharing world, it hasn’t been in the spotlight for quite some time. But that’s about to change. Recently, the forward-thinking folks over at Infinite Reality revealed they’ve acquired Napster for a cool $207 million.
After securing a whopping $3 billion investment this past January, Infinite Reality is visioning big changes for Napster. The music streaming service people knew is soon to transform into a “social music platform.” Picture this: branded 3D virtual spaces where you can attend virtual concerts and listening parties. Sounds interesting, right?
Infinite Reality isn’t stopping there. Users can also look forward to purchasing both physical and virtual merchandise, grabbing exclusive digital content, and snagging tickets to events—all in one place.
John Acunto, who’s not only a co-founder but also the CEO of Infinite Reality, shared his excitement about the acquisition: “By bringing Napster into our fold, we’re setting the stage for a brighter future for artists, fans, and indeed, the music industry as a whole.” He believes this move is perfectly in line with Infinite Reality’s mission to shift from the traditional flat, 2D web to a more engaging 3D environment, offering creators the modern tools they need to truly captivate and grow their audience.
Leading Napster through this exciting transformation is CEO Jon Vlassopulos, formerly with Roblox. He envisions a cutting-edge platform where fans get to interact with artists within dynamic 3D virtual spaces, turning music listening into a more social, immersive experience.
Infinite Reality isn’t new on the scene; it launched back in 2019. Its flagship product, iR Studio, is an engine tailored for creating immersive websites packed with social virtual environments and avatars. While the iR Engine is WebXR-supported, the iR Studio tool doesn’t have this feature enabled just yet. But who knows? Maybe in the future, Napster will support WebXR, opening doors for VR headsets using a compatible browser, though one can only speculate for now.
This isn’t Napster’s first change of hands since its infamous 2002 bankruptcy, spurred on by unlicensed P2P music sharing that got Metallica riled up. Over the years, various companies have taken ownership, aiming to spring back on its popular name. It even shifted from its initial music-sharing roots to a subscription-based streaming model eventually.
Interestingly enough, Infinite Reality isn’t the first XR-centric company to scoop up Napster, either. MelodyVR, a virtual concert company out of London, acquired it in 2020 for $70 million with hopes of streaming immersive concerts to VR headset users. Napster’s last owner before Infinite Reality was Algorand, a blockchain firm with aspirations to decentralize music.
So, as the digital music landscape evolves, it looks like Napster is set to reemerge, echoing its legacy while embracing the future’s possibilities. It’s definitely a story worth following!
