The trend with apps and app acquisitions nowadays is if it’s not working, don’t hesitate to just discontinue with it and move on to other more lucrative prospects. And messaging app LINE has done just that as it announced that it was shutting down MixRadio, which they acquired from Microsoft, a year and two months after they acquired it from Microsoft. They did not hesitate to expound on why they are discontinuing the music streaming service, and they are also not surprising for those who know the industry well.
Music streaming is not the most lucrative of businesses nowadays as licensing deals and royalty payments have kept even the most popular ones barely afloat. And MixRadio wasn’t that popular to begin with, and so even after its acquisition, it was a challenge to keep it financially stable. And if you buy a company, you’d expect it to either make money for you or to give you great publicity. Neither happened with this service and so LINE is saying bye-bye.
Lest you think it’s only all about the money, another reason for the discontinuation of the service is that the app doesn’t fit anymore in the priorities of LINE. It was June of last year when CEO Takeshi Idezawa said that they will be focusing more on Asia. 65% of their 215 million monthly users are actually from Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia and so they have been partnering with localized services and LINE Music actually comes into that picture. But MixRadio doesn’t and so it’s time to let go.
Based on their announcement, it looks like the shutdown is immediate and without much fanfare. But if it’s music you’re looking for within the LINE app or slightly similar to your favorite messaging app, you’ll always have the aforementioned LINE Music app.
SOURCE: LINE
