Business News Deals Digital

Napster allies with Rakuten Music in Japan

By | Published on Thursday 1 June 2017

Already powering the fully on-demand element of the iHeartRadio streaming service in the US, Napster has announced an alliance with Japanese web giant Rakuten which will see it power elements of its new partner’s music service in Japan, Rakuten Music.

Noting that the shift to digital and streaming has taken much longer to get properly underway in Japan, Rakuten’s Naho Kono told Billboard of his firm’s music platform: “Since the launch of Rakuten Music last year, we have aimed to be a one-stop music platform that combines both the convenience of streaming with physical media purchases, which currently remains the mainstream way music is consumed in Japan”.

Confirming its involvement moving forward, Napster CTO Brian Ringer added: “While streaming music is on the rise globally, there are still millions of music fans around the world who have yet to find the right music service to subscribe to. Through this partnership with Rakuten, we’ll be able to extend the Napster experience to music lovers in Japan. More importantly, we’re excited to continue our ongoing support of independent artists by introducing their music to a whole new audience in Asia”.



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