On Wednesday, Napster, the music streaming service originally launched in 1999, announced that the company has finalized a deal to acquire Mint Songs, Web3’s music startup. Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos insists that “we are in an era of unprecedented innovation in the digital music space,” and believes that Web3 innovations can help musicians find new ways to connect with their fans. .
Napster Ventures sets its sights on Web3 music startups
After the acquisition of Hivemind and Algorand in May 2022, napster has rekindled its focus in the Web3 space by buying mint songs, a Web3 music startup. The startup had previously raised $4.3 million from firms like Freestyle Capital and Castle Island Ventures. The Mint Songs platform gives musicians the ability to mint non-fungible token (NFT) items and songs via the Polygon and Ethereum blockchains.
Mint Songs has worked with artists such as Gramatik, Black Dave and Mark de Clive-Lowe to launch exclusive non-fungible token (NFT) souvenirs. When Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos joined the company last year, he revealed plans to acquire companies in the music and Web3 space. Napster announced Wednesday that the acquisition of Mint Songs is the first of many focused on Web3 features and related services.
“We are in an era of unprecedented innovation in the digital music space and it seems like more new music companies have been formed in the last two to three years than in the previous 20,” said Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos, in a statement sent to Bitcoin. .com News. “We are delighted to welcome one of the most impressive Web3 music startups, Mint Songs, as the newest member of the Napster family,” added Vlassopulos.
Napster did not disclose the exact value of the Mint Songs acquisition, and the deal was executed by Napster Ventures, a newly created subsidiary that aims to invest in the best Web3 music startups in the future.
“We are excited that Napster is a central player in the Web3 music ecosystem, and acquiring Mint Songs is a major, pivotal step,” Matt Zhang, founder and managing partner of Hivemind, said in a statement. Napster believes that the combination of Web3 with existing streaming distribution will “unlock new creative and business opportunities” for music fans. Similarly, the ‘old school’ music file-sharing service Limewire has also attempted to tackle the Web3 space with NFTs.
What do you think Napster’s acquisition of Mint Songs means for the future of music in the Web3 space? Let us know your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.
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