| Napster, LLC | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Fate: | Acquired by Rhapsody International Inc. |
| Predecessor: | pressplay |
| Parent: | Best Buy (2008–2011) Roxio (2003–2008) |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Key People: | Mike Davis, CEO[1] |
| Num Employees: | 138 (2007) |
| Industry: | Online music |
| Products: | Napster Napster to Go Napster MP3 Store |
| Revenue: | $111.08 million USD (FY 2007) |
| Net Income: | $36.83 million USD (FY 2007) |
Napster, commonly known as “Napster 2.0”,[2] [3] 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 the aftermath of the latter's 2002 bankruptcy and subsequent shut down after a series of legal actions taken by the RIAA.[4] Roxio purchased Napster and a music streaming service called PressPlay in 2003,[3] 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.
| Napster | |
| Developer: | Napster, Inc. |
| Latest Release Version: | 4.6.3.4 |
| Latest Preview Version: | 5.0 |
| Operating System: | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Wii U |
| Genre: | Media player |
| License: | DRM-free MP3, WMA |
| Website: | Napster.com |
In 2002, Roxio bought the assets of the original Napster at its bankruptcy auction and acquired PressPlay in May 2003 for $40 million.[5] 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.[6] [7] Users were also able to share playlists and browse other users' libraries.[8]
Soon after launching 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.[9]
In May 2006, Napster launched Free Napster, 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.[10] [11] Visitors could also purchase DRM-free MP3 downloads. It was discontinued in March 2010.[12]
In September 2008, after introducing its Insignia line of portable media players, Best Buy acquired Napster for $121 million. At that time, Napster was incurring significant losses due to new competition and had approximately 760,000 subscribers.[13] [14] [15] In January 2010, after losing subscribers, the CEO position, held by Chris Gorog, was eliminated.[16]
In 2011, the company was acquired by Rhapsody, which rebranded the combined application as Napster (streaming music service).[17] [18]