Japanese Messaging Giant Line Shutters the Streaming Service It Bought from Microsoft
The company behind popular messaging app Line is shuttering its music service MixRadio, citing the "financial challenges posed by the music streaming market."
The company behind popular messaging app Line is shuttering its music service MixRadio, citing the “financial challenges posed by the music streaming market.” Making the announcement on Tuesday, Line Corporation said MixRadio will be discontinued in the coming weeks, roughly 14 months after it acquired the service from Microsoft.
MixRadio began life as Nokia MixRadio in 2007, and over time was able to accumulate relationships and an understanding of the mobile device market. Much like Pandora, the service let listeners create stations based on artists and a catalog of 30 million songs. In 2014, Line purchased MixRadio from Microsoft, which had acquired Nokia, and last year, Line struck a deal to pre-load MixRadio on Samsung Z3 smartphones in India.
“Nevertheless,” the company writes, “after a careful assessment of the subsidiary’s overall performance, the financial challenges posed by the music streaming market, and priorities of Line Corporation, Line has determined that future growth would be difficult to ensure and decided to discontinue the MixRadio music streaming service.”
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Line’s other music service, Line Music, will continue to be available in Japan and Thailand.
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