Rhapsody is rebranding itself as Napster.
Rhapsody is part of the old guard of music streaming services, launched way back in 2001 as Listen.com. It never got the traction of it’s rival Spotify, and is now competing against titans like Apple and Google as well. So now, in a bizarre move, Rhapsody is relaunching as Napster, the service it acquired in 2011 which is also synonymous with rampant file sharing and music piracy. “No changes to your playlists, favorites, albums, and artists,” says a blog post on Rhapsody’s website. “Same music. Same service. Same price. 100% the music you love. Stay tuned!”
A pure marketing move. Meh. I’ve gotta think we’re close to when most music listeners won’t even remember using Napster. Can you remember the first song you downloaded on the program? I am pretty sure mine was Eve 6’s “Inside Out.”