MelodyVR, the London-based music start-up, has bought Rhapsody International, (trading as Napster) from its parent RealNetworks. The $70 million consideration comprises: $15m in cash, $11m in newly-issued MelodyVR equity and $44m in loan notes.
Napster was founded in 1999 by Sean Parker and initially involved illegal music sharing. The company was shut down in 2001 and resurfaced as a legal streaming service which now seeks to compete with the streaming giants like Spotify. The company has 3m users and holds 90m pieces of recorded music. New owner MelodyVR streams virtual concerts and events, and posted a £16m loss in 2019.
