In one of the busiest years in streaming music history, Rhapsody today celebrated one of the company’s most successful years to date. Rhapsody, which operates as Napster outside of the U. S., grew its subscriber base by 45 percent in less than 12 months and now has nearly 3. 5 million global subscribers in 34 countries.
“Next year, Rhapsody will celebrate its 15th anniversary and we’ve never been more excited or optimistic about a category that we helped define in early 2001,” said Ethan Rudin, chief financial officer, Rhapsody International, Inc.
“Despite increasing competition, we continue to believe in the value of music and see our role as vital in creating experiences with music that users around the world will pay for. “This year, Rhapsody’s growth was fueled by major product enhancements that focused on making Rhapsody the most personalized way to enjoy the music you love. Rhapsody was the first streaming service to enable users to share full-length, licensed music on Twitter using audio cards.
This fall, Rhapsody launched a new set of activity-specific modes, including Rhapsody Kids, the first-ever dedicated streaming experience for kids, and Rhapsody Auto. These new modes fuel every music moment throughout the day for users – whether that is in the car, or when listening with your kids or when commuting without access to Wi-Fi or a data plan. These enhancements to the product are paying off.
Overall, global listening hours with Rhapsody is up nearly 30 percent in 2015. In addition to key new product innovations, Rhapsody’s footprint continued to expand quickly with the help of new landmark partnerships. This year, Rhapsody added support for new Chromecast Audio and Chromecast TV, Tango, Shazam, and a refre
