Online music retailer Rhapsody has announced plans to acquire Napster in an effort to gain additional subscribers and unspecified intellectual assets.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Napster has been fading in recent years as the music industry continues to undergo significant changes in content delivery models and consumer preferences. However, Rhapsody officials are convinced that Napster still has a variety of assets to offer.

"This is a 'go big or go home' business, so our focus is on sustainably growing the company," said Rhapsody president Jon Irwin, according to the news outlet. "There's substantial value in bringing Napster's subscribers and robust IP portfolio to Rhapsody as we execute on our strategy to expand our business via direct acquisition of members and distribution deals."

Napster currently has a catalog of more than 15 million streaming songs in addition to a range of applications for personal computers, mobile devices and TVs, according to Tech Crunch. Napster subscribers may be slightly disappointed by Rhapsody's smaller library, but many of the features remain consistent with the acquired platform.

The intellectual assets acquired in the deal may be exactly what Rhapsody needs to compete with emerging competitors such as Spotify and MOG in a marketplace where customers are always looking for the next technological breakthrough.