Infinite Actuality Acquires Napster for $207M
March 27, 2025 – Infinite Reality (iR), an organization targeted on AI, spatial computing, XR, and immersive applied sciences, has introduced this week that it has entered right into a definitive settlement to accumulate Napster, the world’s longest working digital music service, for USD $207 million.
Napster, a totally licensed unbiased music service, delivers over 110 million excessive constancy tracks to subscribers, and over the previous 20 years has paid over USD $1 billion to artists and songwriters worldwide.
Infinite Actuality acknowledged that it plans to remodel Napster past streaming right into a social music platform that “prioritizes energetic fan engagement over passive listening,” permitting artists to attach with, personal, and monetize their fan relationships.
By means of the acquisition, Napster and Infinite Actuality plan to supply artists the instruments to:
- Create branded 3D digital areas the place followers can take pleasure in digital live shows, social listening events, and different immersive and community-based experiences;
- Promote bodily/digital merchandise, unique content material, and tickets;
- Use AI-powered instruments for customer support, gross sales, and group administration;
- Entry enhanced analytics dashboards to raised perceive fan conduct;
- Combine gamification to extend fan engagement and loyalty;
- Leverage iR’s viewers community—together with Drone Racing League and high esports groups—to cross-promote and bridge fan communities;
- Supply model sponsorships focusing on younger, digitally savvy shoppers.
“By buying Napster, we’re paving a path to a brighter future for artists, followers, and the music trade at massive,” stated John Acunto, Co-Founder and CEO of Infinite Actuality. “This strategic transfer aligns with Infinite Actuality’s imaginative and prescient to guide an web trade shift from a flat 2D clickable net to a 3D conversational one – giving all creators fashionable instruments to raised have interaction, monetize, and measure their audiences.”
Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos to Take Broader International Position at iR
As a part of the acquisition, Jon Vlassopulos will proceed as CEO of Napster, and can tackle a broader position for iR globally. Appointed in 2022, Vlassopulos oversaw Napster’s restructuring and led the corporate’s evolution into new enterprise areas. Beforehand, he served as Vice President and International Head of Music at Roblox, the place he labored on immersive experiences for main artists and types that reached over 100 million followers, driving tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} of web new income for the music trade, in line with iR.
“This isn’t only a new chapter for Napster, it’s the start of a extra interactive and social music expertise for the following period of the web.”
“Napster revolutionized digital music within the nineties, and now, with Infinite Actuality, we’re able to do it once more. The web has developed from desktop to cellular, from cellular to social, and now we’re coming into the immersive period. But, music streaming has remained largely the identical. It’s time to reimagine what’s doable,” stated Vlassopulos.
“Think about stepping right into a digital venue to observe an unique present with associates, chat together with your favourite artist in their very own digital hangout as they drop their new single, and be capable of instantly purchase their unique digital and bodily merch. With Infinite Actuality’s experience in immersive 3D expertise, we’ll remodel Napster right into a next-generation platform the place followers don’t simply hear on their very own—they expertise music in completely new methods. This isn’t only a new chapter for Napster, it’s the start of a extra interactive and social music expertise for the following period of the web.”
Based in 1999, Napster provided peer-to-peer file sharing expertise, giving followers their first entry to digital music and digital music communities. After being acquired by Rhapsody in 2011, Napster developed into an unbiased digital music streaming service, with entry to greater than 110 million tracks, obtainable in 34 nations.
Infinite Actuality acknowledged that it plans to additional evolve the Napster model, with an purpose of constructing it the main immersive music platform for artists, followers, and curators. For extra data on Infinite Actuality and its mission to speed up the worldwide adoption of immersive applied sciences throughout industries and use instances, please go to the corporate’s website.
Picture / video credit score: Infinite Actuality / Napster
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in analysis and report writing, he has been overlaying XR trade information for the previous seven years.
