News: Napster’s Last Day

Napster, the music-industry scourge that blazed a trail that led to modern digital music services, is about to head off into its final good night. On Thursday, Napster will be merged officially with Rhapsody, the largest on-demand music service in the U.S. Rhapsody announced last month that it had struck a deal with Best Buy to purchase Napster subscribers and other assets in a bid to boost its user base. As part of the deal, Best Buy which acquired Napster in 2008 for $121 million will receive a minority stake in Rhapsody. Financial terms of the Rhapsody deal were not disclosed, but the merger is expected to be finalized on Wednesday. It’s the end of a tumultuous road for Napster, a controversial but iconic site that has blinked in and out of existence over the past decade.

CNN