14 DAY TRIAL // The online music landscape is evolving quickly, though it's not exactly where it should have been at this point, and it's easy to forget that this has been more or less 10 years in the making. If it weren't for Napster, the file-sharing revolution, things might have looked a lot different today and most likely for the worst. Quite a few years ago the site decided legal was the way to go, or maybe some people thought they could capitalize on the Napster name, but it hasn't worked out like it was supposed to. With the service stalling for the last couple of years, Best Buy, the newish owners, decided it's time to oust long-time CEO Chris Gorog along with president Brad Duea.
Best Buy says it's part of a "streamlining" process which would give the retailer a more hands-on approach. "As part of our ongoing efforts to accelerate our growth in digital entertainment, we are currently making changes to our Napster business unit. These changes are part of Best Buy’s efforts to streamline Napster’s executive structure and more effectively integrate Napster’s corporate activities into Best Buy."
What the company doesn't say, but is more than obvious, is that it was clearly dissatisfied with Napster's performance a year-and-a-half after it acquired the music subscription service for $121 million. The company will be run by its current COO, Christopher Allen, who will now be named General Manager. He will be reporting directly to Best Buy. Napster subscriber numbers have dropped in the last couple of years, not by a significant margin, but certainly not a good sign. As the service is being outmaneuvered by newer opponents, Best Buy is hoping this move will spur some growth at the company.
"Today is my last day as CEO of Napster after having helped build the service over the last eight years... We began with a simple idea – "legalizing Napster" – and spent almost a decade trying to perfect that dream. It wasn’t always easy. We were criticized at times for "renting" music. But we thought then – and still believe quite strongly – that we had a better approach to digital music," now former Napster CEO, Chris Gorog wrote on the Napster blog.