Rhapsody Is Dead, Long Live Napster

Hey, everyone, do you remember Napster? The once immensely popular illegal file-sharing software that just kind of evaporated is back! Well, sort of. Do you remember Rhapsody? Neither do I, to be honest, but it was one of the very first internet radio services, and was eventually just known for its annoying plugins and software. Turns out, the company bought the Napster brand back in 2011 with the hopes of turning into a streaming service to compete with Spotify. But today Rhapsody is no more, and instead will exclusively be using the Napster name.

The brand name change was revealed in a brief blog post on Rhapsody's website. In terms of its service and how it's used, nothing will be changing. The company says that users' playlists, favorites, albums, pricing, and everything else will remain the same. Only the name and logo will be updated.

Speaking of logo, they're even going as far as using the cat with headphones that became synonymous with the original Napster.

In terms of its business operations, changing the name to Napster makes sense. That's what Rhapsody was already known by in most of its overseas markets, seeing as how the Napster name has a bit of a legacy. But it's also likely that the company is betting on the nostalgia of users who grew up with its more illegal uses.

Who knows if that will be enough to draw people away from giants like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora. But hey, at least Napster is back.

SOURCE Rhapsody aka Napster