Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service based in Seattle, Washington. The company was first launched in 2001 as Listen.com. In 2010, it separated from its former parent RealNetworks to become a standalone company. It announces that now it will be known as Napster.
Rhapsody acquired Napster in 2011 with an aim to compete with Spotify. When the company has difficulties to compete with Spotify, it is also competing with Apple and Google with their own music subscription services. And for the reason why the company changes its name, in its shortest blog post, the company didn't detail its reason.
"No changes to your playlists, favorites, albums, and artists," said a blog post on Rhapsody's website. "Same music. Same service. Same price. 100% the music you love. Stay tuned!"
Napster is (was) a big brand synonymous with illegal music downloads. In the past, Rhapsody also has sold individual MP3s without digital rights management restriction.
