Streaming service Napster has a new, permanent boss. Bill Patrizio is no stranger to the company though: he was named as interim CEO in May 2017, while retaining his position as president of consumer media at RealNetworks – which continues to hold a stake in Napster.
“He has led a resurgence of the company in its new partner-oriented focus,” said co-chairmen Rob Glaser and Jason Epstein in a statement. “Bill has a track record of resilience and operational success, and a passion for the industry that will lead Napster forward into its next phase of innovation and growth.”
The challenge, to be blunt, is that Napster hasn’t been growing. According to figures shared in RealNetworks’ financial results, the streaming service’s net revenue for the first nine months of 2017 was $134.4m, down from $160.3m in the comparable period in 2016.
Its net losses also increased slightly from $11.4m to $14m in that time, while 2017 also saw the company having to reorganise its finances to avoid defaulting on its agreements with third-party lenders.
As interim CEO, Patrizio was tasked with staving off that threat: now he’ll be trying to turn the company’s fortunes around.
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