At its peak the Napster service had about 80 million registered users. History Īlthough there were already networks that facilitated the distribution of files across the Internet, such as IRC, Hotline, and Usenet, Napster specialized in MP3 files of music and a user-friendly interface. Although the original service was shut down by court order, the Napster brand survived after the company's assets were liquidated and purchased by other companies through bankruptcy proceedings. Its technology allowed people to easily share their MP3 files with other participants. The service operated between June 1999 and July 2001. Initially, Napster was envisioned by Fanning as an independent peer-to-peer file sharing service. Napster was founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker.