Napster Just Got Sold For $200+ Million In The Year 2025

Outkick ^ | March 26, 2025 | Mike Gunzelman

[Red Badger]

Napster (Yes, that Napster) has just been sold for $207 million, leading an entire generation of people to simultaneously ask: "Wait, was Napster still around?"

The popular and original mainstream illegal music file-sharing platform that caused absolute mayhem for record labels in the early 2000s was sold to tech company Infinite Reality on Tuesday for a whopping $200+ million figure, as the startup said that it hopes of transform the streaming service into a music Metaverse of sorts.

What's wild about the whole thing is that Napster's website was shut down 24 years ago after being sued into oblivion by record labels and bands like Metallica due to copyright infringement, yet still went for such a substantial sum all these years later.

NAPSTER FIRST SHUT DOWN IN 2001

Make no mistake about it. The reason why Napster was just sold for such a high price was because of the brand's recognition. For a startup company like Infinite Reality to immediately have a known name like Napster seems like a gamble worth taking. They probably would have spent a good chunk of that anyway in marketing alone just to end up in the same spot where they are now with no further upside like Napster could bring - especially if they bring it back in a witty way and play on the fact that people are shocked the company even still exists.

The only issue with the new Napster is, unfortunately, the most important part of all - the actual business side of it.

Infinite Reality has plans to turn Napster into a virtual 3D concert space that will allow fans to attend shows as well as purchase physical merchandise and artists to release exclusive tracks and more. Sounds cool I guess, but pardon my hesitancy on anything Meta-related these days, considering every time a company has jumped onboard the Meta world it's essentially been a disaster and a major financial loss.

"The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era. Yet, music streaming has remained largely the same. It’s time to reimagine what’s possible," Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos said in a statement.

Wait, what happened to Sean Parker played by Justin Timberlake in The Social Network? Is he no longer the CEO?

Regardless, we'll see if Napster can shake up the Metaverse like they did the music industry more than two decades ago!

DO YOU THINK THE NEW NAPSTER WILL WORK? TWEET ME: @TheGunzShow

[Red Badger]

BLAST FROM THE PAST Ping!.....................

[Jonty30]

Good luck. Not for me, but it could be worth doing if done right.

[z3n]

I vowed never give a red cent to metallica and to this day I never have.

[pburiak]

I first started building my online music (legally owned) library almost 20 years ago with Yahoo Music.

Yahoo subsequently sold the music streaming service and it was rebranded as Rhapsody.

That company was then sold to another owner, who apparently held the copyright to the Napster name and logo, and Rhapsody was rebranded to Napster primarily for the name recognition despite it no longer being a pirate/file sharing site.

Napster is the T-Mobile of digital music compared to the AT&T/Verizon equivalents of Apple Music and Spotify, but I have a library of over 1,000 songs that I don’t want to lose or recreate on another service so I hope these new owners don’t end up discontinuing that element of the business.

[Resolute Conservative]

I thought Lyle was the original Napster and Shawn Fanning stole it from him. :)

[Red Badger]

Are they still alive?................

[Tom Tetroxide]

“Don’t Download this Song”
by Weird Al Yankovic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM8PT1eAvY

Lyrics:

Once in a while maybe you will feel the urge
To break international copyright law
By downloading MP3’s from file sharing sites
Like Morpheus or Grokster or LimeWire or KaZaA
But deep in your heart you know the guilt would drive you mad
And the shame would leave a permanent scar
‘Cause you start out stealing songs, and then you’re robbing liquor stores
And selling crack and running over school kids with your car

So don’t download this song
The record store’s where you belong
Go and buy the CD like you know that you should
Oh don’t download this song

Oh you don’t want to mess with the RIAA
They’ll sue you if you burn that CDR
It doesn’t matter if you’re a grandma or a seven year old girl
They’ll treat you like the evil, hard bitten criminal scum you are

So don’t download this song
Don’t go pirating music all day long
Go and buy the CD like you know that you should
Oh, don’t download this song

Don’t take away money from artists just like me
How else can I afford another solid gold Humvee?
And diamond studded swimming pools, these things don’t grow on trees
So all I ask is everybody, please

Don’t download this song (don’t do it, no, no)
Even Lars Ulrich knows it’s wrong (you can just ask him)
Go and buy the CD like you know that you should (you really should)
Oh, don’t download this song

Don’t download this song (Oh please don’t you do it)
Or you might wind up in jail like Tommy Chong (remember Tommy)
Go and buy the CD (right now) like you know that you should (go out and buy it)
Oh don’t download this song

Don’t download this song (no no no no no no)
Or you’ll burn in hell before too long (and you’d deserve it)
Go and buy the CD (just buy it) like you know that you should (ya cheap bastard)
Oh, don’t download this song

[citizen]

I only do Sirius big band music. And then only when I’m in the car, so not very often. But I do like the 40s music era.

[TangoLimaSierra]

And I thought The Onion trying to buy Info Wars was odd.

[z3n]

I still own many hundreds of audio CDs and I refuse to sell or discard them. While I got most of them from second hand music exchange stores back in the day (sorta like what Gamestop does now with used video games), I actually paid for them, and even though I ripped almost all of them and have digital copies, which I am legally allowed to listen to on multiple devices, I do not trust devices to allow me to play the music that I technically have the rights too. So for that reason, I have to keep the physical disks. It’s really rather sad that they have that control.

I personally consider the legal concept of buying personal use licenses (rather than owning a physical or legal copy) complete and utter bull. These are the same kinds of people who would love to tell you that they own the rights to the atmosphere and you should be licensed to breathe it.

[TexasGator]

“Napster is the T-Mobile of digital music compared to the AT&T/Verizon equivalents of Apple Music and Spotify, “

Nasser died. Your slight of T-Mobile is not warranted. Is some ways they dominate and are adding customers much faster than AT&T/Verizon combined.

They even provide, for the time, StarLink texting to AT&T/Verizon customers!

[gundog]

I remember a Metallica file on Napster that downloaded this after about 10 minutes of anticipation.

[dayglored]

> BLAST FROM THE PAST Ping!.

Wow, man, like, groooooovy....

I wish the new owners luck. The "Napster" name does have a certain, what, cachet?

But then, so does the name "Britney Spears"...

Not sure it's worth all the effort...

[Tell It Right]

I listened to almost nothing but old stuff. I ported over my CD’s and tapes and vinyl to MP3’s decades ago, using mostly the iTunes app on Windows for the CD’s. A few of my favorite bands came out of retirement and I’ve bought their new stuff on iTunes. Thus, I listen to everything on my iPhone be it in the car or at home and don’t pay a monthly fee for the privilege of listening to it, nor do I have ads.

[SunkenCiv]

The new version of Napster only plays lullabies...

[packrat35]

The biggest mistake the record companies did was shutting down Napster. After it was shut down, dozens of others took its place and the cat was then truly out of the bag.

They could have worked with them but no..

Remember when the movie companies fought about VCR’s, then lost... and finally making billions selling movies on VHS. Years of sales wasted.

Same thing with MP3’s. Years wasted on lawsuits, then embracing and making billions.

Then the same with streaming...they never learn!

[packrat35]

If you look up Human Tool in the dictionary, you will find that very photo...

And he isn’t he a very good drummer to boot...

[packrat35]

Love the movie reference...I love that movie.

[7thson]

I have a music library of over 6,000 songs.