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Napster hires Emmy Lovell as Chief Strategy Officer ahead of relaunch
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 13 April 2021
If you were wondering what the hell MelodyVR is planning to do with the good old Napster streaming service that it surprisingly acquired last year, well, now at least we know who to ask. Former Warner exec Emmy Lovell, that’s who. Because she has just joined the digital firm as Chief Strategy Officer. Which, if nothing else, confirms that there must definitely be a strategy.
Music-centric VR start-up MelodyVR announced that it was buying the often forgotten Napster streaming service last August. Although still most associated with the infamous file-sharing network that first used the name, the Napster brand has been employed by a legitimate digital music platform since 2003.
Originally a download service, it morphed into a streaming set-up as streams became the big thing – partly via a merger with existing US streaming platform Rhapsody – but never really managed to gain much momentum as Spotify, and then later Apple and Amazon, started to dominate the market for musical streams.
When announcing that his start-up had bought itself one of the longest established digital music companies last summer, MelodyVR CEO Anthony Matchett told reporters: “MelodyVR’s acquisition of Napster will result in the development of the first ever music entertainment platform which combines immersive visual content and music streaming”.
Back in February, it was confirmed that MelodyVR and Napster would now fully merge their operations, using the Napster brand for all their products and services moving forward, with a full-on relaunch of the whole shebang promised for later this year.
Lovell, most recently Executive Vice President of WEA Europe at Warner, will seemingly play a key role in that relaunch as Napster’s new Chief Strategy Officer. Reporting into Matchett, she will drive “the strategic direction and growth of the company during this momentous new era and beyond”.
Confirming her new role, Lovell says: “Innovation and disruption have always been at the core of the Napster offering and as we work towards the relaunch that spirit is more important than ever. Today, we work in a fast-paced and rapidly changing world which requires delivering more for artists and fans. I’m excited to do just that working alongside Anthony and the rest of the team”.
Meanwhile, Matchett says of his new hire: “Emmy’s wealth of industry experience is going to be a real asset to Napster. She truly values the importance of musicians and their craft and is a champion for artist rights and compensation. We’re THRILLED to welcome Emmy to the team and I look forward to us working closely together as we relaunch the Napster brand”.
