NAPSTER SOLD FOR $207 MILLION TWO DECADES AFTER COLLAPSE

Software firm Infinite Reality has acquired Napster for $207 million, marking a revival for the music streaming service over two decades after its original collapse under legal pressure.

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The San Francisco-based buyer, a specialist in immersive technology, took ownership from blockchain entities Algorand and Hivemind, who held the platform since 2022.

The deal positions Napster, with its catalog of 110 million licensed tracks spanning 34 countries, as a springboard for a new era blending audio streams with virtual experiences. Infinite Reality's purchase taps into Napster's storied past, a brand that redefined music access in 1999 by enabling 80 million users to share tracks freely until lawsuits from record labels and artists like Metallica forced its bankruptcy in 2002.

Rhapsody relaunched it as a legal streaming outfit in 2011, and despite trailing giants like Spotify with just 5 million subscribers, it retains a foothold worth the $207 million price tag.