Napster closes as Rhapsody merger is completed
Napster, the digital music download service that rocked the industry and changed the way we consume tunes forever, has closed following the completion of a merger with Rhapsody.
Though beginning life as an illegal P2P service, in the past few years Napster went legit, offering a subscription based deal.
Head over to Napster.com and you are met with this message:
“Napster has joined Rhapsody. The number one subscription service is now even bigger.”
It’s sad to see Napster, a service surrounded with so much controversy fade away rather than burn out. Afterall, without founders’ Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker’s revolutionary approach to music distribution in 1999, it’s unlikely we’d have services like the US-centric Rhapsody today.
With the acquisition of Napster in place, Rhapsody are now in a better position to battle it out against Spotify, the steam-rolling music streaming service that launched in the US earlier this year.
