Infinite Reality, a media, ecommerce, and marketing business concentrated on 3D and AI-powered experiences, has actually gotten in an arrangement to obtained Napster. That suggests that the brand name initially released in 1999 as a peer-to-peer (P2P) music file-sharing service is set to be born-again once again. This time, brand-new owners are improving the brand name into one concentrated on marketing artists in the metaverse.

Infinite revealed today a conclusive arrangement to purchase Napster for $207 million. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based business prepares to turn Napster into a “social music platform that focuses on active fan engagement over passive listening, enabling artists to get in touch with, own, and generate income from the relationship with their fans.” Jon Vlassopulos, who ended up being Napster CEO in 2022, will continue with his function at the brand name.

Considering that 2016, Napster has actually been running as a (legal) streaming service. It declares to have more than 110 million high-fidelity tracks, with some supporting lossless audio. Napster customers can likewise listen offline and watch video. The service presently begins at $11 each month.

Because 2022, Napster has actually been owned by Web3 and blockchain companies Hivemind and Algorand. Infinite likewise establishes Web3 tech, and CEO John Acunto informed CNBC that Algorand’s blockchain background was enticing, as was Napster’s licenses for streaming countless tunes.

To market artists, Infinite has many concepts for assisting Napster users communicate more with the platform than they make with the present music streaming service. The business shared objectives of utilizing Napster to provide “branded 3D virtual spaces where fans can enjoy virtual concerts, social listening parties, and other immersive and community-based experiences” and more “gamification.” Infinite likewise desires artists to utilize Napster as a platform where fans can acquire tickets for efficiencies, physical and virtual product, and “exclusive digital content.” The 6-year-old company likewise prepares to provide artists capabilities to utilize “AI-powered customer service, sales, and community management agents” and “improved analytics control panels to much better comprehend fan habits” with Napster.