Trailblazing music tech firm Napster has been acquired by UK company MelodyVR听骋谤辞耻辫.听
The $70m deal will see London-listed听MelodyVR听merge with听Rhapsody International Inc., a Delaware corporation trading as Napster听which is听currently owned by Nasdaq-listed RealNetworks.听
MelodyVR, which听livestreams music concerts in virtual reality,听will add more than 80m tracks to its catalogue as it pays 拢11.5m in cash and issues听200 million听MelodyVR听shares.听
The company’s strategy is to scale the business through a subscription model, implementing a monthly fee. It says听combining traditional music streaming and immersive content differentiates it from other music services such as Apple Music and Spotify.听
Seattle-headquartered Napster听has evolved from its early days of user music downloads into a听provider of streaming technologies and services for businesses, operating in four continents and 34 countries.听听
Napster in the early days
Its music and audio platform allows companies to launch their own branded music and audio service. Customers include BMW (BMW Music), Sonos (Sonos Radio) and Sony Music Entertainment Japan (Mora听Qualitas).听
In the year to 31 December 2019 Napster reported revenues of $112.6m and made a profit before interest and tax of $1.8m.听
“MelodyVR’s听acquisition of Napster will result in the development of the first ever music entertainment platform which combines immersive visual content and music streaming,鈥澨�said听MelodyVR听CEO听Anthony Matchett.听
鈥淔or music fans today, live and recorded music are intrinsically linked. We are as keen to see our favourite artists perform live as we are to listen to their albums.听听
鈥淥ur purchase of Napster, one of the music industry’s original disruptors, is born out of our wish to deliver the world’s foremost music experience, available听seamlessly across audio and visual media and in turn presenting a truly next generation music service.”听
MelodyVR听is valued around 拢76m after a surge in value during lockdown. It has streamed gigs from the likes of听Emeli听Sande,听Khalid and John Legend.听
music tech