Napster

Many companies have tried in vain to rebuild Napster for modern music tech, including retail outlet Best Buy and streamer Rhapsody.

Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos, a former head of music at Roblox who invested in the first iteration of Napster at Bertelsmann, will continue to lead the brand as it integrates with the company’s hopes for livestreaming, e-commerce, digital community management and AI initiatives.

Napster has long been an inspiration for tech firms looking to smash entrenched media industries like its co-founders Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker did.

Joseph Menn, the author of “All The Rave,” a history of Napster, told The Times last year that “Napster created this whole wave of antihero entrepreneurs,” who saw music as a way in for more valuable marketing opportunities.

“Napster knew more about the customer than the labels did. “They had access to your music collection, they saw what people downloaded.