Napster is back, except this time it’s an AI music platform

If you’re old enough to remember the early 2000s internet, you probably remember Napster. That was the file-sharing platform that basically invented the idea of streaming music before Spotify or Apple Music even existed. It got sued into oblivion for it, sure, but the core concept eventually won out.

Well, the latest update is that Napster is back, and this time it wants you to create music instead of just listening to it.

Disrupting the music industry again?

Earlier this month, the company quietly shut down its streaming service and pivoted entirely to AI-generated music. Subscribers found this out when they received messages explaining that their playlists would no longer work.

That said, this shift didn’t come out of nowhere. Last year, an AI-focused company called Infinite Reality scooped up Napster for $207 million. At the time, it seemed like they might keep the streaming side running while adding new features. That’s clearly not the plan anymore.

The new Napster app, which is available on iOS, Android, and the web, is built entirely around AI music creation. When you open it, you pick an AI “collaborator” that specialises in a particular genre. There’s one for hip-hop, another for rock, one for country, and so on. You tell your chosen collaborator what kind of track you want, and it generates something for you. The whole process takes just a few seconds.

CEO John Acunto is framing this as the next big disruption. “The age of passive consumption is over,” he said in a statement. “Fans aren’t here to be fed a playlist. They’re here to co-create.”

ALSO READ: Claude now lets you use apps like Canva and Figma directly inside it

That’s a bold pitch for sure, but it isn’t exactly a new one. Napster is actually entering a space where competitors like Suno already exist with more detailed creation tools. Let’s see if the platform can carve out its own space for itself.