As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em. Or, well, buy someone to compete with them. And so Best Buy has laid down $121 million to purchase music service Napster. The retail chain already owns part of the site, having shelled out $10 million back in 2004 for a joint marketing agreement.
The Best Buy acquisition is just the latest move in the long troubled history of the service, which has over the last several years been almost bought by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann (a move that was blocked by a US court), temporarily acquired by an adult entertainment company, and eventually landed under the aegis of software maker Roxio. They’ve also more recently gone from being a DRM-ridden subscription service to an open MP3 model, which arguably makes them relevant once again.
As for the future of Napster, Best Buy says it plans to use the service to sell non-music goods. They’ll also keep the management of Napster intact, including CEO Chris Gorog. I’d guess this deal also opens up a nice door for Best Buy to bundle music with competing music player sales or heck, even iPods, I suppose. Diabolical.
I don't like music subscription svcs, and I hate Best Buy (they think nothing of selling a 10ft ethernet cable for $30, or an USB one for $40+) so I hope this fails miserably for both entities.
Sorry, have a chip on my shoulder today.