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Napster sold for $207million over 20 years after shutting down

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Napster sold for $207million over 20 years after shutting down © AP Photo

Napster, the brand notoriously connected to music piracy before reemerging as a subscription music service, has been sold to Infinite Reality for $207 million (€192m).

The tech startup announced it had bought Napster in hopes of transforming the streaming service into a social music platform where artists can connect with fans and better monetize off their work.

“The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era,” said Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos. “Yet, music streaming has remained largely the same. It’s time to reimagine what’s possible.”

Among its plans to update Napster, Infinite Reality said it will create virtual 3D spaces that will allow fans to attend concerts, and give musicians or labels the ability to sell digital and physical merchandise.

Artists will also receive a wider range of metrics and analytics to better understand the behavior of platform users.

“We can think of no better use case for our technology than putting it in the hands of music artists who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Infinite Reality Chief Business Officer Amish Shah.

Napster was launched in 1999 by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker and quickly became the first significant peer-to-peer file-sharing application. It kicked off a wave of pirating software and applications, later followed by the likes of LimeWire.

Napster filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and was shut down after the record industry and rock band Metallica sued over copyright violations. Rhapsody later bought the brand in 2011 and relaunched it as a music streaming service.

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Fuel price reduction: ‘Joy’s coming’ – Manufacturers

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Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, sees the price of fuel coming down to N800.

Ekwutosblog reported recently that Dangote Petroleum Refinery slashed its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, to N840 per litre.

The reduction represents a N40 decrease from the previous rate of N880 per litre.

This happened a few days after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, increased the pump price of petrolto N925 per litre in Lagos.

This decrease is also coming a week after Dangote Refinery increased the ex-depot petrol price to N880 per litre

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Ajayi-Kadiri said that it was a welcome development, adding that price of the product would further decrease to N800 with the modalities being put in place by Dangote Refineries.

“You cannot blame anyone for producing and ensuring effective delivery,” he said.

When asked to share his thoughts from a manufacturer’s point of view on what he sees about the long term effect, he added, “So if I may use what the Gen Z is called ‘Joy is coming’, that’s what I see.

“The long term is going to be better. I see the price coming down to 800 and that’s what manufacturers want.

“I just told you now that last year, we spent as much as 1.1 trillion in terms of providing alternatives, apart from the fact that even the quality of the products is not guaranteed.

“So in the near future, I continue to see continued reduction in the price of diesel.

“I also see a situation where other players will be encouraged to come into the field, because that is what it takes. I don’t think that we should use sentiment to dissuade any investor from improving the life and well being of the people.

 

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Nigeria projected among top-five world’s biggest economies

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Nigeria has been projected to be among the top five biggest economies in the world by 2075.

The Spectator Index disclosed in a post on Friday, quoting a Goldman Sachs’ document titled ‘The Path to 2075—Slower global growth, but convergence remains intact’.

According to the news platform, Nigeria’s economy is estimated to reach $13.1 trillion by 2075.

The report showed that Nigeria followed China ($57 trillion), India ($52.5 trillion), the United States of America ($51.5 trillion), and Indonesia ($13.7 trillion) in projected world’s biggest economies by 2075.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.84 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. The country’s GDP is estimated to be $568 billion at the end of 2024 in real GDP terms.

Africa’s most populous nation is expected to reach a GDP estimate that could be $585.9 billion.

The development comes as the President Bola Tinubu administration projects a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

Meanwhile, financial analysts had expressed doubts over the possibility of Nigeria achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030 when the country’s projected GDP growth rate is 3.2 percent.

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Dangote Sugar, Oando, other stocks push NGX to N1.185tn gains

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Oando, Dangote Sugar and other stocks have propelled Nigerian Exchange Limited, known as the Nigerian Stock Market, to a significant N1.185 trillion single-day gain.

Accordingly, NGX market capitalisation increased by 1.57 percent to reach N76.761 trillion, up from N75.576 trillion recorded on Tuesday.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1,466.87 points, or 1.22 percent, settling at 121,257.69 from its previous close of 119,790.82.

Other stocks that fueled the bullish run on Wednesday are Cileasing, Champion Breweries, and 59 other stocks.

Consequently, Ekwutosblog reports that market breadth closed positive, with 63 gainers and 17 losers.

On the gainers’ table, Dangote Sugar rose by 10 percent, closing at N48.40, while Oando Plc also increased by 10 percent, settling at N68.75 per share. Then, Cileasing grew by 9.98 percent, finishing at N5.18, and Champion Breweries soared by 9.98 percent, ending the session at N10.91 per share.

 

Also, Computer Warehouse Group gained by 9.95 percent, closing at N11.60 per share.

Meanwhile, conversely, University Press dropped by 6.25 percent, finishing at N6.00, while RT Briscoe fell by 6.12 percent, closing at N2.30 per share.

Multiverse Mining declined by 4.89 percent, settling at N8.75, and Meyer shed 4.69 percent, ending the session at N9.15 per share.

In another level of analysis, a total of 861.67 million shares worth N26.18 billion were exchanged across 22,896 transactions.

This is compared to 868.68 million shares worth N23.71 billion that were traded across 22,207 transactions earlier.

Market data showed that transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 82.98 million shares worth N1.66 billion. Accordingly, Caverton Offshore Support Group followed with 64.18 million shares valued at N319.69 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 60.62 million shares worth N3.45 billion.

Also, Ja Paul Gold traded 56.26 million shares valued at N115.35 million, and Access Corporation sold 48.59 million shares worth N1.12 billion.

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