Last Wednesday (January 23) it was revealed that Rhapsody, the parent company of music streaming service Napster, has a new majority owner – after Seattle-based digital media software company RealNetworks doubled its 42% stake in Rhapsody to approximately 84%.
Yesterday (January 30th) Rhapsody made three more big announcements that offer a glimpse into the company’s ambition to be a major player in the music streaming sector.
Rhapsody has appointed Angel Gambino as its Chief Commercial Officer to lead its business development, marketing, product and partner management teams in North America, Europe and Latin America.
Gambino, who brings more than 20 years of business and product development experience with a proven track record of growing digital businesses says she is “confident [Napster] can command a leadership role in this changing world of entertainment”.
Gambino’s experience includes senior executive leadership roles at global broadcasters such as BBC and Viacom where she launched some of their first on demand and live streaming services as well as co-founding and successfully exiting startups in artificial intelligence, as well as new smart mobility platforms such as Connected Car, social media and streaming services.
Gambino’s latest role was Founder and CEO of Sensai, a SaaS technology platform utilizing artificial intelligence to empower artists and businesses to amplify the impact of their social media campaigns.
The second big announcement is that Rhapsody has ‘formally announced’ its Powered by Napster service – an audio platform that allows other companies to launch their own branded streaming service.
Powered by Napster is the platform that Sony Music Entertainment Japan (SMEJ) is using for Mora Qualitas, its high resolution music streaming service in Japan.
Other companies to have used Rhapsody’s platform include iHeartRadio, Rakuten and commercial background music company SoundMachine, which it partnered with in 2018.
According to Rhapsody, ‘the demand for Powered by Napster’ has led to the appointment of John Law as Vice President, Head of Product, who brings 20 years of experience to his new role.
Law joins Rhapsody from the information services industry where he served as product executive driving innovation for SaaS product and platforms.
He will report into Gambino and manage a team of product managers and developers focused on building key microservices and cloud applications that power subscription and ad supported media streaming platforms and services.
Rhapsody International’s platform service offers companies a suite of technologies and solutions, including music and media streaming and download infrastructure, applications, rights management, customer billing, royalty administration and business intelligence.
“Angel’s track record building successful digital media platform businesses over the last two decades has been vast and deep.”
Bill Patrizio, Rhapsody International
“Angel’s track record building successful digital media platform businesses over the last two decades has been vast and deep,” said Bill Patrizio, President and CEO of Rhapsody International.
“Her experience will be incredibly valuable to Rhapsody as we focus on building a global, scalable Platform as a Service business model positioned for long-term leadership and growth. We’re thrilled she’s joining the team.”
“Rhapsody and Napster are pioneers in the music industry that share a legacy of distribution and technology innovation.”
Angel Gambino
Gambino added: “Rhapsody and Napster are pioneers in the music industry that share a legacy of distribution and technology innovation.
“The company’s commitment to write the next chapter for the audio industry has brought me back to my music roots where I can passionately advocate for partners, creators and consumers.
“I’m confident we can command a leadership role in this changing world of entertainment.”Music Business Worldwide
