The digital media and ecommerce company Infinite Reality announced that it acquired the streamer Napster for $207 million on Tuesday (March 25). This marks the third time Napster has changed hands in the last five years.
“With Infinite Reality’s expertise in immersive 3D technology, we will transform Napster into a next-generation platform where fans don’t just listen on their own — they experience music in entirely new ways,” Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos said in a statement. “This isn’t just a new chapter for Napster, it’s the beginning of a more interactive and social music experience for the next era of the internet.”
Working with Napster, Infinite Reality aims to provide artists with the tools to create 3D virtual spaces and sell physical and virtual merchandise. “Imagine stepping into a virtual venue to watch an exclusive show with friends,” said Vlassopulos, or to “chat with your favorite artist in their own virtual hangout as they drop their new single.” Vlassopulos previously served as head of music at Roblox, which has offered similar experiences to artists and labels.
Infinite Reality has been expanding rapidly in recent years, reporting that it spent around $800 million on acquisitions in 2024 alone. The company’s goal is “lead an internet industry shift from a flat 2D clickable web to a 3D conversational one,” according to Infinite Reality CEO John Acunto.
The spending spree has continued this year. In January, Infinite Reality announced that it had raised $3 billion. A few weeks later, it acquired the company Obsess, which has worked on 3D digital stores and experiences for brands like Ralph Lauren, Crate & Barrel, and J.Crew. Napster is Infinite Reality’s latest target.
Napster famously launched in 1999 as a file-sharing service that allowed users to download tracks for free. It later became a licensed streaming service, albeit a small one: It had a little more than 1 million monthly active users at the end of 2020, according to Music Ally.
That year, the virtual reality concert app MelodyVR bought Napster for $70 million. Hivemind Capital Partners and cryptocurrency company Algorand became the streamer’s new owners in 2022.
In an interview after that acquisition, Vlassopulos said he hoped Napster could foster “much more of [a] community experience” and not just be “a transactional consumption vehicle.”
Infinite Reality’s Acunto echoed that rhetoric this week. “I firmly believe that the artist-fan relationship is evolving,” he said in a statement. “Fans [are] craving hyper-personalized, intimate access to their favorite artists, while artists are searching for innovative ways to deepen connections with fans, and access new streams of revenue.”
