Napster is a music streaming service based in Seattle , Washington , United States. Until 2016, the service was known domestically as Rhapsody before rebranding as Napster, the same name brand that was used by Roxio's Napster .
27-637: Napster started as an audio search engine named Aladdin that was purchased by Listen.com in May 2001 and became the basis for its new streaming service, called Rhapsody, that launched in December of the same year. Based on the Open Music Model principles, Rhapsody was the first streaming on-demand music subscription service to offer unlimited access to a large library of digital music for a flat monthly fee. In August 2003, internet media behemoth RealNetworks , anticipating
54-595: A free, advertising-supported Web-based music player that enabled users to stream full-length versions of all the songs in Napster's catalog of over 8 million tracks three times each, without downloading any software or making any service commitment. Visitors could also purchase DRM-free MP3 downloads. It was discontinued in March 2010. In September 2008, after introducing its Insignia line of portable media players , Best Buy acquired Napster for $ 121 million. At that time, Napster
81-636: A long-term optimal price, expected to bring in a total revenue of over US$ 3 billion per year. The research demonstrated the demand for third-party file sharing programs. Insofar as the interest for a particular piece of digital property is high, and the risk of acquiring the good via illegitimate means is low, people will naturally flock towards third-party services such as Napster and Morpheus (more recently, Bittorrent and The Pirate Bay ). The research showed that consumers would use file sharing services not primarily due to cost but because of convenience, indicating that services which provided access to
108-583: A new streaming audio engine. This engine was commercially deployed in the TuneTo.com customized radio service, and was also used in their "celestial jukebox" prototype, called Aladdin. In April 2001, TuneTo.com was acquired by Listen.com, a startup founded in San Francisco by author and entrepreneur Rob Reid , that had built a large online music directory. Aladdin was transformed into the Rhapsody music service during
135-489: A new version of its music streaming app with refreshed branding. On March 9, 2023, the UK trading entity Napster Music Limited entered liquidation following a winding up notice from HMRC . In addition to its subscription service, Rhapsody used to sell 256 kbit/s constant bit rate MP3s individually, Rhapsody has since canceled the sales of downloadable songs to focus on its core streaming service. The Rhapsody Music Software,
162-409: Is because DRMs haven't worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. – Steve Jobs , Thoughts on Music open letter, 2007 Napster (pay service) Napster , commonly known as “ Napster 2.0 ”, was a music streaming service and digital music store , launched by Roxio in 2003 under the purchased name and trademarks of former free peer-to-peer file sharing software Napster in
189-514: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It predicts that the playback of prerecorded music will be regarded as a service rather than as individually sold products , and that the only system for the digital distribution of music that will be viable against piracy is a subscription -based system supporting file sharing and free of digital rights management . The research also indicated that US$ 9 per month for unlimited use would be
216-450: The market clearing price at that time, but recommended $ 5 per month as the long-term optimal price. Since its creation in 2002, a number of its principles have been adopted throughout the recording industry, and it has been cited as the basis for the business model of many music subscription services . The model asserts that there are five necessary requirements for a viable commercial music digital distribution network: The model
243-409: The Rhapsody brand in favor of Napster and has since branded its service internationally as Napster. On August 25, 2020, Napster was sold to virtual reality concerts company MelodyVR. On May 10, 2022, Napster was sold to the blockchain company Algorand and the crypto-focused investment firm Hivemind. Following the sale, Emmy Lovell was announced as CEO of Napster. On June 8, 2022, Napster released
270-497: The aftermath of the latter's 2002 bankruptcy and subsequent shut down after a series of legal actions taken by the RIAA . Roxio purchased Napster and a music streaming service called PressPlay in 2003, to create a new legal online music service that lets users access music through a subscription or on a fee-per-song basis. Napster was later acquired by Best Buy . The service was acquired by rival Rhapsody in 2011. In 2002, Roxio bought
297-479: The assets of the original Napster at its bankruptcy auction and acquired PressPlay in May 2003 for $ 40 million. After integrating the services, Roxio launched a revamped Napster in October 2003, whereby users were able to download songs a-la-carte or pay for a monthly unlimited download and streaming media service. Users were also able to share playlists and browse other users' libraries. Soon after launching
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#1732855926545324-522: The current law-enforcement based methods used by the recording industry. One startup in Germany, Playment, announced plans to adapt the entire model to a commercial setting as the basis for its business model. Several aspects of the model have been adopted by the recording industry and its partners over time: Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer
351-474: The deal to be completed by November. On May 6, 2014, Rhapsody announced its parent company made its first outside investment and led a Series B round for Dubset Media, the operator of streaming music site Thefuture.fm . Terms of the deal were not disclosed. On April 21, 2016, Rhapsody named its first CEO, Mike Davis. Davis is the first CEO of Rhapsody International, which is the parent company to Rhapsody and Napster. On July 14, 2016, Rhapsody phased out
378-421: The digital property market: rather than being seen as a good to be purchased from online vendor, music would be treated as a service being provided by the industry, with firms based on the model serving as intermediaries between the music industry and its consumers. The model proposed giving consumers unlimited access to music for the price of $ 5 per month ($ 8 in 2023), based on research showing that this could be
405-595: The launch of Apple's iTunes Store , acquired Rhapsody. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody relaunched as a standalone company, separate from former parent RealNetworks . On August 25, 2020, Rhapsody International and the Napster name were sold to virtual reality concerts company MelodyVR for $ 70 million, which renamed itself Napster Group PLC following the takeover. On May 10, 2022, Napster was sold to Hivemind and Algorand . In 1999, Tim Bratton, J.P. Lester, Sylvain Rebaud, Alexandre Brouaux, Nick Sincaglia and Dave Lampton were working on
432-401: The launch of the mobile apps Rhapsody Music Software was discontinued. As of 2012, downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version of digital rights management enforced on AAC+ or WMA files. Open Music Model The open music model is an economic and technological framework for the recording industry based on research conducted at
459-409: The most music would be the most successful. The model predicted the failure of online music distribution systems based on digital rights management . Criticisms of the model included that it would not eliminate the issue of piracy. Others countered that it was in fact the most viable solution to piracy, since piracy was "inevitable". Supporters argued that it offered a superior alternative to
486-487: The next several months of 2002, they secured licenses from EMI , BMG , Warner Bros. Records , and Sony to add their music to the service. In July 2002, Rhapsody added Universal Records to their catalog, signing the last of the five major record labels of the time. RealNetworks announced plans to acquire Listen.com on April 21, 2003, one week before the launch of the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003. The transaction closed on August 3, 2003. The Rhapsody service
513-407: The revamped Napster, Roxio partnered with Korean electronics maker Samsung to create a Napster-branded MP3 player . The player, named Samsung Napster YP-910 came with a 20GB hard disk that ran for ten hours on a lithium-polymer battery. It used a special version of Napster software and drivers to transfer DRM-protected files to the built-in hard disk. In May 2006, Napster launched Free Napster,
540-546: The revamping process with a new logo and subscription price changes. As of January 2011, Rhapsody president Jon Irwin told Reuters the on-demand subscription music service had more than 750,000 subscribers, having added more than 100,000 since becoming an independent company. At that date Rhapsody had a catalog of 11,000,000 songs. On August 3, 2011, Rhapsody announced that from October 2011 they would no longer re-license DRMed music bought before three years. On October 3, 2011, Rhapsody announced plans to acquire Napster with
567-447: The service would come from MTV's Urge , a discontinued music service MTV developed in partnership with Microsoft . In February 2010, RealNetworks announced their intention to restructure Rhapsody into a fully independent business . Recent problems with the online music subscription service prompted the CEO to make "crucial decisions and think some things through". During this period, dropping
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#1732855926545594-427: The subscription service was considered, but he felt it wasn't the right decision at the time. Instead, the whole Rhapsody team thought of ways to revamp the struggling company and in turn dropped RealNetworks as parent of the company. This was a very risky decision, as the company needed the support, but gained the support of MTV Networks and Viacom, and other independent companies. Since independence, Rhapsody has started
621-414: The summer and fall of 2001 and was launched on December 3, 2001. Rhapsody was the first streaming on-demand music subscription service to offer unlimited access to a large library of digital music for a flat monthly fee, a concept advocated by business theories such as the Open Music Model . At launch, Rhapsody's library was formed of content mostly from Naxos Records and several independent labels. Over
648-613: Was a free program to help organize music collections, and synchronize them in MP3 portable media players (PMP) with the Rhapsody subscription service. It competed with Apple Inc. 's iTunes software. As of September 2013, the latest version of the software is Rhapsody 4. Rhapsody 5 was delayed because the Rhapsody product team felt the company's future success would be in mobile apps and started working on apps for iOS ( iPhone ), Android , BlackBerry OS , and Verizon Wireless 's app store, all of which were deployed as of 2011. Following
675-553: Was briefly known as RealRhapsody shortly after the acquisition, but was since shortened back to "Rhapsody". By 2004, some blogs providing sharing of playlists with comments, with names such as "Rhapsody Radish". In late 2007, Music On the Go (MOG) partnered with Rhapsody to allow Rhapsody subscribers to access all of Rhapsody's content through MOG. In August 2007, RealNetworks formed a joint venture with Viacom's music network MTV named Rhapsody America. The underpinning software running
702-502: Was incurring significant losses due to new competition and had approximately 760,000 subscribers. In January 2010, after losing subscribers, the CEO position, held by Chris Gorog , was eliminated. In 2011, Napster was acquired by competing music streaming provider Rhapsody International . In June 2016, as part of a restructuring, Napster's San Francisco offices were closed, and some employees were laid off. Concurrently, Rhapsody announced that it would rebrand as Napster , citing that
729-516: Was proposed by Shuman Ghosemajumder in his 2002 research paper Advanced Peer-Based Technology Business Models at the MIT Sloan School of Management . It was the first of several studies that found significant demand for online, open music sharing systems. The following year, it was publicly referred to as the Open Music Model. The model suggests changing the way consumers interact with
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