To show interest toward Web3, Napster, a popular streaming service, has acquired Mint Songs.

About Napster

Napster is an independent music streaming platform that allows users to stream millions of tracks from different artists and watch official videos ad-free. You can also transfer your playlist from other streaming services to Napster. Originally founded in 1999 by two college students, Napster was the first brand to begin peer-to-peer music sharing. It gained popularity and built a strong network of over 80 million users although it was available in a few countries. The platform was so widely used that sometimes, the site experienced network congestion because of how much file sharing was going on. In 2001, it was forced to shut down over legal copyright issues. Shortly after, it was sold, re-launched, and sold again. The second time it was for sale, in 2011, Rhapsody – a music streaming service – bought it and the name “napster” disappeared from the market. But fans loved the Napster brand, so in 2013, Rhapsody rebranded to Napster and kept providing personalized streaming services and warming users’ hearts. Its next move is to enter the Web3 world and blend Napster’s original vision with the current trends today.  

About Mint Songs

Mint Songs is one of the leading NFT music marketplaces that focuses on showcasing artists’ creative processes, delivering surreal experiences for fans, and helping build strong musical Web3 communities. On Mint Songs, artists can produce, mint, and trade music as NFTs.

Napster x Mint Songs

As part of the team’s efforts to get in touch with Napster’s roots and put fans first, Napster is launching Napster 3.0 – a “decentralized music-first ecosystem” – in collaboration with Mint Songs.

Napster’s new CEO Jon Vlassopulos’ mission this year is to establish Napster as a forward-thinking brand by growing its Web3 presence as well. This acquisition is a first step in that direction. 

In a statement, Vlassopulos commended the team at Mint Songs for their innovative work – and how much they’ve helped artists get into the Web3 space and be well rewarded for their art. The CEO noted that Web3 music is an interesting niche to dive into right now and grow a powerful community – thanks to brands like Mint Songs paving the way for what’s possible. 

Given Napster’s history and modus operandi, growing communities around music has always been its passion, especially when it involves giving fans back their power through unlimited access to all kinds of music and HD videos from artists anywhere in the world.

Now, acquiring Mint Songs is going to take that to another level for artists, too.

Garrett Hughes, the co-founder of Mint Songs, said:

‘’Napster’s ambitions aligned with their goals as they’ve always wanted to create deep, engaging ways for artists to connect with fans that also offer them an opportunity to monetize that fandom.”