// startup autopsy
Pressplay
Sony and Universal built a legal Napster. It had 20,000 songs and DRM so restrictive users couldn't even burn a CD.
marketfitAcqui-hire
Fatal mistake: DRM restrictions made the legal service worse in every dimension than the illegal alternative
// the model, blind
Evaluating only Pressplay’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Acquisition gone wrong as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: No market fit.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Pressplay founded as a joint venture between Sony Music and Universal Music Group to create a licensed digital music subscription service in response to Napster
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Pressplay officially launches with only 20,000 licensed tracks from Sony and Universal, severe DRM restrictions blocking CD burning and portable device transfers, and confusing multi-tier subscription pricing — immediately panned by critics and users
REGULATORY ACTION
The U.S. Department of Justice launches an antitrust investigation into Pressplay and rival MusicNet, examining whether the major labels were colluding to restrict digital music licensing and suppress competition from independent services
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
Roxio acquires Pressplay for approximately $12 million — a fraction of its development costs — and relaunches it under the Napster brand in October 2003, effectively ending Pressplay as an independent service
SHUTDOWN
Pressplay ceases all operations; its remaining technology and subscriber base fully absorbed into Napster 2.0 under Roxio, marking the complete collapse of the Sony-Universal joint venture after less than three years