UK-based MelodyVR, which creates immersive live music for VR headsets and phones, acquires Rhapsody International, owner of Napster, from RealNetworks for $70M
The saga of Napster has taken an interesting turn … Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide : Napster sold to MelodyVR in $70m deal, including $44m owed to record labels and other partners James Booth / CityAM : Virtual live music business Melody VR buys Napster in $70m deal Kelly Earley / Silicon Republic : MelodyVR plans to acquire Napster in a $70m deal Betty / MelodyVR : MELODYVR TO ACQUIRE MUSIC SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE NAPSTER Tweets: Brian Roemmele / @brianroemmele : Napster and RealNetworks!? <I check my Casio F91w to see if I set my decade accurately. Rub eyes.> Yep coming to you VR experience, some interesting IP. https://twitter.com/... Ingrid / @ingridlunden : It's a regular theme in tech that being the early mover doesn't always give you the advantage. (But this could be a very interesting combination, especially in the current market. I hope it is.) https://twitter.com/... Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp : Napster is one of those brands that was really of its time 20 years ago, but I'm not sure why anyone would see much value in it now: https://techcrunch.com/... See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Napster has spent two decades being passed between owners rather than run as a standalone business: Rhapsody bought the service in 2011 and then rebranded itself as Napster in 2016, leaving RealNetworks holding Rhapsody International. MelodyVR's $70M purchase now hands the brand to a UK company whose core product is immersive live-music playback on headsets and phones.
The deal's structure matters as much as its headline price: per Music Business Worldwide's reporting, $44M of the $70M is owed to record labels and other partners, meaning MelodyVR is effectively assuming obligations as much as buying assets. Five years later the pattern repeats at a higher multiple, when Infinite Reality pays $207M for Napster and eventually rebrands itself as Napster, an "AI-powered digital experiences" provider.
First-order effects
- MelodyVR gains a running subscription service and its label relationships overnight, while RealNetworks exits music entirely and $44M of the purchase price flows straight to record labels and other partners rather than to the seller.
Second-order effects
- MelodyVR can now bundle Napster's subscription base with its VR concert catalog, turning what was a standalone streaming service into a distribution channel for immersive live content — the same asset-flip logic Pandora used when it took key assets from Rdio's bankruptcy shutdown instead of letting them die.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Napster functions less as a business than as a recyclable brand shell: bought by MelodyVR for $70M in 2020, then by Infinite Reality for $207M in 2025, each time re-attached to whatever technology wave the buyer is selling — VR first, then metaverse and AI.
The trend: Legacy digital-music brands are being serially resold as ready-made identities for each new consumer-tech wave, with the Napster name appreciating across owners even as its underlying service changes hands.