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RealNetworks closes Listen.com buy

Headshot of John Borland
Headshot of John Borland
John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com
John Borland
covers the intersection of digital entertainment and broadband.
John Borland
RealNetworks said Tuesday it had closed its $36 million acquisition of Listen.com, the private San Francisco-based company that runs the Rhapsody music subscription service. The , announced in April, gives RealNetworks majority stakes in two subscription services, since it is also the largest single owner of Listen.com rival MusicNet.

However, RealNetworks has turned its attention to promoting Rhapsody and is already the largest single distributor of the service, the companies said. Rhapsody streamed more than 12 million on-demand songs in July, a 13 percent increase over June, according to the companies. They did not disclose how many paying customers that represented.