Shawn Fanning
Creator of Napster, the first popular peer-to-peer music service
- Age
- 45 yrs
- Birthday in 16 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Software
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
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Shawn Fanning is an American programmer who created Napster in 1999 as a Northeastern University student. The free music-sharing service attracted tens of millions of users and transformed the music industry before courts shut it down.
Biography
Napster
Fanning learned programming from his uncle. In 1999, aged 18, he wrote Napster, which let users search one another’s computers for MP3 files. It became one of the fastest-growing applications in history.
Court battles
The band Metallica, Dr. Dre and the recording industry sued. In 2001 a court ordered Napster to stop sharing copyrighted music, and it shut down.
Later ventures
Fanning founded or backed companies including Snocap, the gaming site Rupture, the social network Path and the biotech start-up Helix.
Legacy
Napster showed demand for digital music, paving the way for iTunes and streaming services such as Spotify.
Timeline
-
1980
Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States
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1999
Launches Napster
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2000
Time magazine cover
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2001
Napster shut down
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2006
Founds Rupture
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2010
Co-founds Path
Notable works
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1999
Napster Software
Did you know?
-
1
“Napster” was his nickname, after his hairstyle.
-
2
He appeared on the cover of Time in 2000.
-
3
Napster had more than 80 million registered users at its peak.
Connections
Related people
Frequently asked
Who is Shawn Fanning?
Shawn Fanning is an American programmer who created Napster in 1999 as a Northeastern University student. The free music-sharing service attracted tens of millions of users and transformed the music industry before courts shut it down.
How old is Shawn Fanning?
Shawn Fanning is 45 years old, born on 22 November 1980 in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States.
Where is Shawn Fanning from?
Shawn Fanning was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States.
What is Shawn Fanning known for?
Shawn Fanning is best known for Creating Napster (1999); Rupture; Path; Helix.
References
- Shawn Fanning — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Shawn Fanning — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Shawn Fanning — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Shawn Fanning (Q92633) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Shawn Fanning”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Shawn Fanning.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/shawn-fanning
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