Does Napster nonetheless exist after its 2001 falling out? Sure, and the corporate — which was re-branded to a music streaming service — was purchased in 2025 for hundreds of thousands of {dollars}. The massive pay day for the platform got here 20 years after it confronted authorized troubles over its controversial music-sharing technique, with co-developers Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning being accused of copyright infringement. So, who owns Napster now?
Under, go behind Napster’s possession and find out about its historical past, income and extra.
Who Invented Napster?
Parker and Fanning co-founded Napster and launched the platform in 1999. Songs shared by way of the platform had been steadily encoded in MP3. By 2001, Napster confronted authorized points over copyright infringement allegations, and it misplaced a number of lawsuits earlier than submitting for chapter in 2002.
The Fb-focused movie The Social Community briefly mentions Parker’s monetary troubles over Napster’s downfall. Actor Justin Timberlake performed the function of Parker.
So Napster continues to be related…ish pic.twitter.com/AGfJUxzFhQ
— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) March 25, 2025
How A lot Is Napster Value?
After submitting for chapter in 2002, Napster was ultimately acquired by Roxio in an public sale. The platform was re-branded as Napster 2.0. In 2008, Finest Purchase bought Napster for greater than $120 million.
In 2020, Napster was offered to MelodyVR. Two years later, it was offered once more to Hivemind and Algorand.
Infinite Actuality bought Napster for $207 million in March 2025.
Who Owns Napster Now?
Infinite Actuality, an e-commerce and digital media firm, acquired Napster in March 2025. In response to a press launched from the corporate, Infinite Actuality famous that purchasing Napster will assist pave “a path to a brighter future for artists, followers, and the music trade at giant.”
“This strategic transfer aligns with Infinite Actuality’s imaginative and prescient to guide an web trade shift from a flat 2D clickable net to a 3D conversational one — giving all creators fashionable instruments to higher interact, monetize, and measure their audiences,” John Acunto, co-Founder and CEO of Infinite Actuality, mentioned, per the press launch. “I firmly imagine that the artist-fan relationship is evolving, with followers craving hyper-personalized, intimate entry to their favourite artists, whereas artists are trying to find revolutionary methods to deepen connections with followers, and entry new streams of income. We’re creating the final word music platform the place artists can thrive within the subsequent wave of digital disruption.”
Jon Vlassopulos, CEO of Napster, elaborated what Infinite Actuality is planning on doing with the music streaming service.
“Think about stepping right into a digital venue to look at an unique present with buddies, chat together with your favourite artist in their very own digital hangout as they drop their new single, and be capable of straight purchase their unique digital and bodily merch,” Vlassopulos mentioned. ‘With Infinite Actuality’s experience in immersive 3D expertise, we are going to remodel Napster right into a next-generation platform the place followers don’t simply pay attention on their very own—they expertise music in totally new methods. This isn’t only a new chapter for Napster, it’s the start of a extra interactive and social music expertise for the subsequent period of the web.”
