Could Twitter #Music be on its way out? Launched only six months ago, the free iOS app has seemingly failed to grab the attention of iDevice owners, with an AllThingsD report Sunday claiming it will soon be killed off.
“Multiple sources familiar with the matter” told the news site that download numbers for the app have been “abysmal”, with engagement similarly disappointing.
When it launched in the spring, Twitter #Music peaked at number 6 in the iTunes chart, but soon disappeared from view, with data from app analytics companies such as Onavo showing that while there was significant interest in the app when it first hit the iOS store, a short while later many chose to delete it from their handset.
The app launched to great fanfare in April, offering users a way to discover new artists and music, with content generated from user activity on its microblogging site. You don’t need to have a Twitter account to use the app, though if you do have one and sign in, the software offers up personalized music recommendations based on tracks in your iTunes music library, artists you follow on Twitter (so you’d better like their music as well as their tweets), and music and musicians you tweet about.
There could be a multitude of reasons why the app has failed to take off. Poor recommendations? Ugly interface? Maybe people are simply too wrapped up in streaming services like Pandora and Spotify to bother with #Music. The fact that you can only listen to song previews no doubt limits its appeal for many users, though membership of some music streaming services allows for tracks to be played in their entirety.
AllThingsD explains that development of the #Music project was the responsibility of the then Twitter business development leader Kevin Thau, but he departed the company soon after the app launched, leaving it in the hands of a product division that’d had little to do with its development and release. It subsequently struggled to work it into the microblogging site’s wider strategy. The fact that six months in we’re still without an Android version – with an iOS 7-optimized version also yet to show up – further suggests Twitter has lost interest in the app.
Although it looks like it could be curtains for Twitter #Music, the company won’t be turning its back on the space completely as it’s reportedly in the middle of restructuring its music team. The suggestion is that the company could opt to continue building on its existing partnerships with music streaming services such as Spotify, iTunes Radio and Rdio.
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