Digital music wholesaler Snocap

01 / WHAT IT BUILT

What the company did

SNOCAP was a San Francisco digital music company founded in 2002 by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, Napster's chief architect Jordan Mendelson, and investor Ron Conway. It aspired to be a legitimate marketplace for digital media: its core product was a digital signature database of recorded music that identified songs uploaded to sites like imeem or traded on peer-to-peer networks, determining whether the music was licensed for online distribution. Its Snocap MyStore let more than 110,000 unsigned and indie acts sell and distribute their own music. The service launched publicly in December 2004.

03 / EVENT HISTORY

Events in the structured record

1. 2002
   Founded

   Shawn Fanning, Jordan Mendelson and Ron Conway founded SNOCAP in 2002 as a legitimate digital media marketplace; the service launched publicly in December 2004.

2. 2007
   Decline

   Partners and the public responded poorly; customer support was poor and technical issues numerous. In late 2007, Snocap laid off 60% of its workforce and sought a buyer.

3. 2008
   Acquired

   In April 2008, imeem acquired Snocap in a fire sale; imeem had already used Snocap's digital registry for over a year, and the 15 remaining employees were absorbed into imeem.