"Napster? Is it 1999?"
The news on Tuesday that Napster had been sold for $207 million sparked disbelief as millennials experienced a hearty dose of nostalgia.
The controversial OG music-sharing platform, founded in 1999 by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker and shut down by court order in 2001 after throwing the music industry into a panic, has been purchased by the 3D tech company Infinite Reality.
The company appears to be planning to use the brand for a "Fortnite" concerts-like metaverse play, writing that it wants to use Napster to "create branded 3D virtual spaces where fans can enjoy virtual concerts."
The internet quickly let the jokes and memes rip.
"What next, you gonna tell me Limewire sold for $100 million??" one Redditor wrote.
"Napster still exists?" another wrote.
Others let a popular Robin Williams "What YEAR is it?" meme express their confusion.
Then there was the sticker shock.
"I like to think I understand tech but I have no idea how this is worth over $200 million," one internet user wrote.
Some shared nostalgic memories of the freewheeling nature of the music-file-sharing era.
"I remember coming home from high school being the king pin of burnt various song CD's and seeing Napster shutdown," one wrote.
And it turns out that the Napster of today still has users.
"As a Napster/Rhapsody subscriber for the last 10 years, yes it was still around and you were missing out," another wrote. "It was by far the best music service for price, library and sound."
Other Napster users wondered whether the sale to a new company would change the service.
"I actually still use napster and enjoy it. Hope this doesnt change that," one Redditor wrote.
"I mean I use it everyday. Never had any issues," they added. "I would say the library isn't big as Spotify. I like weird music sometimes I hear in random Internet s—t and I'd say I can find 80% of it on Napster."
The Napster you remember has been gone for decades
For many millennials, the beep, hiss, and hum of dial-up internet was a necessary prelude to listening to Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" or Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5."
Years before there was on-demand streaming or officially licensed song downloads, Napster shook up the music industry with technology that allowed users to easily share their audio files with other people around the world for free.
In the comparatively lawless days of these early internet startups, this approach proved to be a little too disruptive and the company was soon sued into oblivion.
The Recording Industry of America Association and the heavy-metal group Metallica argued that the service allowed illegal transfers that encouraged the violation of artists' copyrights (and deprived them of revenue from album sales).
Soon, the original website was shut down. Over the years, the brand and assets were sold to a string of owners, including Roxio, Best Buy, and Rhapsody.
Even with its ups and downs, the company left its mark on modern media distribution — it was Daniel Ek's inspiration for Spotify — and the former piracy platform has since transformed into a modestly sized business that now plays by the rules.
As one Redditor succinctly put it: "The Napster of today has nothing to do with the Napster of 25 years ago."
Now, Napster's story appears to have another chapter, and its new owner seems ready to push once again into uncharted territory.
Infinite Reality, which bills itself as an immersive reality company, announced in January that it raised around $3 billion from an undisclosed investor. The metaverse company has been acquisitive in the past, purchasing the esports and influencer company ReKTGlobal in 2022 and the immersive tech company Landvault in 2024.
As it happens, Napster now has the licenses to (legally) stream millions of music tracks, and John Acunto, Infinite Reality's CEO, told CNBC the plan is to build virtual spaces for concerts, listening parties, and merch sales.
"When we think about clients who have audiences — influencers, creators — I think it's very important that they have a connected space that's around music and musical communities," Acunto told the outlet. "We just don't see anybody in the streaming space creating spaces for music."
"I think there's no better name than Napster to disrupt," he added.
