Napster, the infamous brand synonymous with free music, is planning a resurgence. However, this time the company wants to enter the crypto and NFT (Non-fungible token) space.
The redesign of the streaming platform is part of Hivemind Capital Partners’ private agreement. Hivemind Capital is a crypto company by Matt Zhang, former CEO of Citigroup Inc. A group of buyers, including Algorand and Brevan Howard Digital Assets, participated in Hivemind’s acquisition of Napster.
Music lovers can purchase tickets and experiences from artists using Napster’s token, $ NAPSTER, at launch. The new Napster platform will run on the Algorand network. However, the company has not yet specified a fixed launch date.
Napster aims to serve music fans, copyright holders and artists with its new crypto token. The initiative is still in its early stages, Zhang noted. In addition, the number of products will be limited at launch.
The decision to enter the crypto space comes after LimeWire’s similar rebirth. This could set it against crypto-native platforms like OpenSea, which are looking for new ways to grow in the digital sphere.
Since Napster was initially taken down in 2001 due to a copyright infringement lawsuit, it has undergone several identities and owners. In 2016, the company reused the Napster name.
About Napster’s early days, CEO Emmy Lovell says,
“Of course it was completely illegal and there was a big setback. […] But it still has the reputation of being a disruptor and an industry innovator. ”
In its most recent publicly available filing, Napster stated that it made $ 39.5 million in revenue for the first half of 2021. In contrast, Spotify Inc. made about $ 4.75 billion over the same period.
$ NAPSTER will be limited to 10 billion tokens. Before more choices were made about the functionality of the sign, Zhang said the figure was “meaningless”. The Napster Innovation Foundation will oversee the currency’s administration, and stakeholders will receive incentives.
How the project is performing remains to be seen. The current state of the market is not good and the NFT market is also at a low point. However, it may be a good time to get into space.
Zhang says,
“Despite the short-term volatility in the market, I personally remain very, very optimistic about how it will truly bring a real use case and lasting value, and actually bring a paradigm shift to many sectors.”