Rhapsody tunes into European market via Napster deal
by Sarah Hashim-Waris | Published October 18, 2011 at 4:00 AM ET
Digital music service Rhapsody International Inc.'s acquisition of Best Buy Co. subsidiary Napster will inevitably pave the way for consolidation in the music industry, says Jon Irwin, president of Rhapsody, in this video interview with The Deal Pipeline. As a result of the deal, Irwin says Rhapsody has turned the volume up on the European market, specifically Germany, to compete with U.K.-headquartered rival Spotify Ltd. Irwin coincidentally points out that "Germany is not currently occupied by Spotify." Though Rhapsody has not released the official number of subscribers transferred over to its database from Napster, Irwin says the deal is slated to close at the beginning of 2012. For more music industry news, watch "Warner music auction paved the way for EMI," assistant managing editor Richard Morgan's video interview on how Warner Music Group Corp.'s recent $3.3 billion sale to Access Industries Holdings LLC was a springboard for EMI Group Ltd.'s ongoing auction. - Sarah Hashim-Waris