MixRadio, the streaming music service available in 31 countries is being shut down by owner LINE.
Japanese messaging firm LINE bought MixRadio in December 2014 from Nokia for an undisclosed fee.
Five months later, it was freed from being locked to Microsoft Windows mobiles and made available on Android and iOS in 31 countries.
Now though, MixRadio is no more.
LINE, which boasts over 180m online users, said in a statement – which you can read in full below – that MixRadio’s “financial challenges” meant that “future growth would be difficult to ensure”.
MixRadio, a service built on 2007’s Nokia Comes With Music platform, had a catalogue of over 36 million songs.
LINE Corporation, owner and operator of the free call and messaging app LINE, today announced its decision to discontinue the operations of its subsidiary MixRadio Limited. The MixRadio music streaming service will be discontinued in the coming weeks as we work with the technical team and partners to ensure a smooth closure.
LINE agreed to acquire the business and assets making up the music service known as MixRadio from Microsoft Mobile OY in December 2014. The newly established company continued to provide a radio-style music streaming service intended to provide a broader user experience. Nevertheless, 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.
LINE will continue to provide a unique user experience that blends music and communication via its LINE MUSIC service, which is currently available in Japan and Thailand.
LINE and the MixRadio team would like to thank the users of MixRadio for all of their support of the service.Music Business Worldwide
