As the Gadget Helpline covered in early October, online music distributor Rhapsody entered a deal to buy out one-time piracy paradise Napster – and today it’s being reported that the merge is complete with both services united taking on the new owners name of simply “Rhapsody” (and not “Rhapster” – as was humourously suggested!)
Both Napster and Rhapsody have been in service for over ten years, which the former launching in 1999 and the latter launching in 2001. Napster became more reknowned – albeit infamous- due to a copyright war with Metallica in 2000. Spotify since has been able to grab the spotlight, but now under the wing of social pal Rhapsody we could hear a change of tune in coming months.
Rhapsody President Jon Irwin stated at the time of announcement that his company is “excited to welcome Napster music fans to the best on-demand music experience anywhere. Our new members will have more places to connect to the music they love and to discover new favourites, guided by Rhapsody’s rockstar editorial team and the tastes of other Rhapsody members via our innovative social features.”
The deal will see Rhapsody ‘aquire’ subscribers of Napster’s services, as well as bolstering the existing catalogue of over 11,000,000 available tunes. Retail giant Best Buy is the previous owners of Napster and will remain to hold a minority share in the new merger.
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