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Tag: napster

  • Napster Taps Former Roblox VP and Music Chief as CEO

    Napster Taps Former Roblox VP and Music Chief as CEO

    Napster has tapped former Roblox music chief for its new CEO as the company looks to reinvent itself and its brand.

    Napster sparked a revolution at the turn of the century, bringing online music sharing mainstream. The company was a major threat to the music industry and eventually shut down under the pressure. Hivemind Capital and Algorand purchased the new Napster, born out of what was the Rhapsody streaming service, in May 2022. The new company has been working to leverage the power of Web3 as it works to reinvent Napster.

    According to Forbes, the company has hired Jon Vlassopulos as CEO. Vlassopulos formerly served as Roblox VP and global head of music.

    “I’ve been musing about how antisocial and unexciting streaming services were, so when I was offered one to innovate it was too much to pass it up,” he told Forbes.

    “Simple things like profiles starting to become wallets for both artists and users almost overnight, without any fancy jargon,” he continued. “You log in and you see, ‘Oh I have a bunch of goodie bags in my profile.’ And based on 20 years of data we think we have a pretty good handle on what people might like and might not like.”

    Only time will tell if Napster can regain its former glory, but it appears the company is pulling out all the stops to achieve it.

  • Ellen DeGeneres: Did She Cheat on Portia de Rossi?

    Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have been in the headlines for weeks, with headlines of divorce rumors, meltdowns, and a stint in rehab for Portia thrown straight into the public eye. Now one source says Ellen cheated on Portia right before that rehab stay. It seems Portia believes that Ellen had an affair with a mutual friend right before she headed off to rehab in May.

    Ellen DeGeneres reportedly wants her save her marriage, however–she hasn’t publicly admitted to this affair–and the two have long been engaged in couples therapy.

    “It’s going to take a lot for Portia to trust Ellen again,” the source said. “They kept up with the therapy after Portia got out of rehab, but they still have a long way to go.”

    Meanwhile it seems Ellen DeGeneres has just cashed in on the A. Quincy Jones-designed Brody House on Los Angeles’ Westside. Napster co-founder Sean Parker bought the home for $55 million, meaning Ellen made a tidy $15 million on the flip. She bought the home last winter for $40 million. She and Portia de Rossi are known for flipping homes. This particular house was reportedly named as among the reasons behind a recent blow up and Portia’s return to drinking. It seems she shouldered most of the renovations to the home–ones that she and Ellen were supposed to do together.

    Ellen DeGeneres, of course, is steering clear of any of these personal issues when addressing the media. Her on-air persona hasn’t changed, nor has her apparent compassion for what’s going on in the world around her. On Friday, what would have been Nelson Mandela’s birthday–Nelson Mandela Day–she shared her thoughts about the late, great leader.

    Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are likely making headlines in part because of Ellen’s constant media presence. The talk show host and comedienne is known for being kind, generous, loving, and funny. Is this how she behaves behind closed doors or is there a side of Ellen that very few people have seen? This is no doubt a very intriguing aspect of the Ellen and Portia debacle–at least for those on the outside looking in.

    It would be sad to imagine Ellen DeGeneres isn’t who she is on TV. Hopefully time will prove these rumors to be just that–unfounded rumors–and Ellen and Portia de Rossi will wind up living their happily ever after–both in the Hollywood celebrity realm and behind closed doors.

    Image via YouTube

  • Former Napster COO Milton Olin Jr. Dies After Being Hit By Police Car

    Milton Olin Jr., who once served as COO of Napster, is dead after being hit by a police car while riding his bicycle.

    The accident happened at 1:05 PM at the 22000 block of Mulholland Highway in Los Angeles on Sunday. Olin was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene. He was sixty-five years old. CBS Los Angeles reports:

    Investigators confirmed to CBS2′s Melanie Woodrow the deputy was on routine patrol and was not responding to an emergency at the time of the collision. They also confirmed that Olin, a prominent entertainment attorney, was in the bike lane when he was struck.

    The deputy who was driving was taken to the hospital. Authorities say he has minor lacerations to his face and cuts on his eye due to glass that broke from the impact of the collision.

    The police say that speed wasn’t a factor in Olin’s death, and that drugs nor alcohol are believed to be involved. The deputy who hit Olin has so far not been named. He’s being interviewed today.

    According to his LinkedIn profile, Olin was working as a partner at Altschul & Olin. He had been practicing law since departing Napster in 2002 (he spent two years at the company). Prior to napster, he had been SVP at FirstLook.com, SVP Business & Legal Affairs A&M at Polygram, SVP Business & Legal Affairs at A&M Records, and a partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP.

    The above photo comes from what appears to be Olin’s personal Twitter account where he has often tweeted about cycling.

    The accident comes less than three months after former Amazon CFO Joy Covey was also killed in a bicycle accident in San Mateo County.

    [via TMZ]

    Image: Twitter

  • Winamp Media Player Shuts Down In December 2013

    Many of us remember from the Windows 98 days, as well as the introduction of MP3s, the uprising and popularity of Winamp Media Player. Before iTunes, it was the only well-known alternative to Windows Media Player at that time. Known for its slogan “It really whips the llama’s a**,” the long-time running media player will no longer be continuing next month.

    According to PC Magazine, Winamp Media Player was originally created in 1997 by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev, who were students attending the University of Utah. The popular Internet provider AOL acquired the player in 1999 during the purchase of Frankel’s company Nullsoft.

    Unfortunately, Winamp Media Player will no longer be available for download on its website of Winamp.com after December 20th, 2013. This also includes other various software for download on the media player’s website as well. A statement published on its website communicates to viewers their shutdown:

    “Winamp.com and associated web services will no longer be available past December 20, 2013. Additionally, Winamp Media players will no longer be available for download. Please download the latest version before that date. See release notes for latest improvements to this last release. Thanks for supporting the Winamp community for over 15 years.”

    PC World states that the shutting down of Winamp marks “The End of An Era.” It basically is, because Winamp did also help fuel the music downloading software Napster while it was in its prime. One of the great features of Winamp was the ability to change the design and appearance of the media player by customizing its skin.

    To see how Winamp has evolved, YouTube user “TheRasteri” elaborates on the various features Winamp has included throughout its various releases.

    Various Winamp fans and users have expressed their sadness and nostagia on Twitter:

    [Image source: YouTube]

  • Sean Parker and Lars Ulrich Are Buddies Now

    Sean Parker and Lars Ulrich Are Buddies Now

    In the year 2000, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich was fuming over the fact that an unfinished Metallica track had wound up on the Sean Parker-founded filesharing service Napster. That led to a famous lawsuit and the eventual demise of Napster as we knew it.

    Now, in the year 2012, Lars Ulrich and Sean Parker are partners and apparent new buddies. Yesterday, Spotify announced that the entire Metallica catalog is now available on the streaming music platform. Now, if you so choose, you can listen to Ulrich’s drumming without paying a dime (you just have to listen to some ads). It’s just funny how things work.

    Sean Parker has been tweeting about a meeting the two just had, and it serves as an odd bit of closure from a saga that we all remember so vividly (even the younger Napster users among us).

    It’s not like Lars Ulrich just recently dropped the hostility toward the internet’s role in music distribution. Years ago, he pretty much said that he was cool with a Metallica album being shared. But there you have it. Napster co-founder Sean Parker listening to Metallica on a streaming music service that he invests in. Amazing.

    [h/t All Things D]

  • Sean Parker’s Airtime Has 2,000 Users

    Sean Parker’s Airtime Has 2,000 Users

    Airtime, a new video chat service from Napster co-founders Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning, already has about 2,000 monthly users, even though the site has yet to officially launch.

    Airtime, which is still in a testing phase, has been running on Facebook’s Open Graph platform, and maintains about 70 daily active users, and 600 weekly active users, according to a source familiar with the project.

    According to Airtime’s site, the company is a small team located in San Francisco, that “shares a passion for using the latest video technology to bring people together.” Airtime’s investors include Founders Fund, Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, SV Angel, Yuri Milner, Ashton Kutcher, will.i.am, Scott Braun, and Michael Arrington.

    Fanning and Parker have been secretive about the development of the Airtime service, while they recruit engineers via the startup’s website. Also, potential future users are can sign up to become testers through Facebook Connect.

    Parker was played by Justin Timberlake in the 2010 film The Social Network.

  • Napster Merges With Rhapsody

    Napster Merges With Rhapsody

    It’s a sad day for fans of old school file-sharing, as Napster is no more.

    Starting yesterday, Napster officially began merging with Rhapsody, the largest on-demand music service in the United States. Back in October, Best Buy, the parent company of Napster, agreed to sale to Rhapsody for an undisclosed amount of money.

    “This deal will further extend Rhapsody’s lead over our competitors in the growing on-demand music market,” said Jon Irwin, president, Rhapsody. “There’s substantial value in bringing Napster’s subscribers and robust IP portfolio to Rhapsody as we execute on our strategy to expand our business via direct acquisition of members and distribution deals.”

    Combining the subscriber bases of the two largest on-demand music services will allow Rhapsody to further enhance it’s offerings, and try their damnedest to stay ahead of Spotify (where Napster co-founder, Sean Parker, is a major investor). According to Adam Parness, the senior director of music licensing for Rhapsody, they’ve seen an increase in subscriptions for the service since Spotify came state side. “We have seen tremendous growth since spotify came onto U.S. soil,” he said. “It validates our model.”

    It’s unclear how many subscribers Rhapsody gained, seeing how the merger is now complete.

    What are some of your memories of Napster? Will it be remembered fondly? Let us know your thoughts in the comment area below.

  • Napster Acquired by Rhapsody

    Rhapsody announced today that it has agreed to acquire Napster from Best Buy. That includes the subscribers and “certain other assets” which remain unspecified. For the acquisition, Best Buy gets an also unspecified minority stake in Rhapsody.

    As a result of the acquisition, Rhapsody will simply add the Naspter subscriber base to its own for one combined subscriber base. Here are some statements the company released:

    “This deal will further extend Rhapsody’s lead over our competitors in the growing on-demand music market,” said Jon Irwin, president, Rhapsody. “There’s substantial value in bringing Napster’s subscribers and robust IP portfolio to Rhapsody as we execute on our strategy to expand our business via direct acquisition of members and distribution deals.”

    “Rhapsody has demonstrated that it has what it takes to build a profitable business in the increasingly competitive on-demand music market,” said Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of entertainment for Best Buy. “We are confident they are the right partner to provide Napster’s existing subscriber base with an immersive digital music experience moving forward.”

    “This is a ‘go big or go home’ business, so our focus is on sustainably growing the company,” said Irwin. “We’re excited to welcome Napster music fans to the best on-demand music experience anywhere.  Our new members will have more places to connect to the music they love and to discover new favorites, guided by Rhapsody’s rockstar editorial team and the tastes of other Rhapsody members via our innovative social features.”

    The deal is expected to close at the end of November.

    While Napster might not get the attention it once did, there’s no question that it had an incredible impact on the music industry and how people find music online.

  • Spotify Gets Sean Parker’s Approval…In a Big Way

    Spotify Gets Sean Parker’s Approval…In a Big Way

    It’s always interesting when past voices in a particular area talk about the up and coming, brand new thing. It was interesting when MySpace’s Tom Anderson discussed Google+ shortly after it launched. And today, it is even more interesting to read what Sean Parker has to say about Spotify.

    Of course, you know Justin Timberlake Sean Parker, right? Mr. Napster. I thank Sean Parker every night in my prayers for allowing me to be the cool kid in middle school with all the bitchin’ tunes. Seriously.

    On the American launch day of the previously Euro-limited streaming music service Parker wrote a Facebook note that could be described as “excited.”

    Absolutely beside himself with excitement, more like it.

    Check out his note, in its entirety below –

    My thoughts on Spotify launch…

    Today represents the realization of a dream. For a decade I have waited for a music service that could rekindle my excitement about music by enabling music to be shared freely across the world — all the while empowering artists to reap the economic benefits of selling their music.

    Spotify is the service I have been waiting for.

    Since Napster the recorded music business has been steadily declining and, until now, there has been no light at the end of the tunnel. Today’s historic announcement marks the reversal of this downward trend and the beginning of a return to growth by the recorded music business.

    Spotify promises to get people excited about music again, and the result will be a new golden age of music–more people discovering and listening to more music than ever before. Spotify is removing the barriers to sharing music with friends so that music can move freely and find its fans organically. In this hyper-efficient system great music will find its natural audience. This means that more artists will find success, more fans will discover them, and artists will make more money selling their music than they thought possible. The rusty gears of the record business will turn again.

    Since Spotify takes music viral, listening to music online is finally going to be a social experience. (Just like it’s always been offline.) And by making music social the experience of discovering and listening to new music will be more fun than ever before. While Spotify can be downloaded and used or free on the desktop, users of Spotify will need to purchase content when they want to take music with them “on the go” via their iPod or iPhone. In this sense, Spotify is the answer to piracy: migrating millions of piracy-based music fans to a legitimate platform where their consumption of music can be monetized and the artists who dedicate their lives to creating music can finally get paid.

    So, Parker thinks that Spotify is not only a wonderful, fun, smooth experience, but that it also the savior of the music industry. Parker also hits the point that stood out too me when I first got my hands on Spotify – the social presence. Spotify truly wants its service to be about sharing – from the integration with Facebook and Twitter to the “gifting” of songs to friends.

    But is it the answer to piracy, as Parker says?

    I don’t know about all that.

    Check out my hands-on first look at Spotify here.

    [Hat tip to Tech Crunch]

    [Image Wikipedia]