Q: Have you used Twitter #Music lately?
If your answer more closely approximated ‘what?’ than ‘no’, then you aren’t alone.
The social media titan that pioneered 140 character-or-less communication, turning it into an inescapable modern phenomenon, hasn’t been so lucky with its music discovery service. Just six months on from launching Twitter #Music, it now looks like the app is being shuffled into an early grave as the company considers axing the failing platform.
According to All Things D, multiple industry sources have indicated that Twitter #Music’s fate is less than bright, and although the final date hasn’t been confirmed, its unlikely that Twitter’s upcoming music department revamp will include support for the music streaming-come-discovery service as the “app’s fate is nearly sealed.”
Despite plenty of industry buzz in the lead-up to its April unveiling, and the sheer might of Twitter’s millions of global users, Twitter #Music made a less-than-favourable debut in the App Store rankings, peaking at #6 in the overall free app downloads. Just 30 days later, the music app began floundering, slinking with increasing speed out of the downloads list as engagement and interest began stiffing.
Initially, it seemed Twitter seemingly followed a fool-proof plan: use groundbreaking aggregate software from Aussie-born music site We Are Hunted, repackage it with Twitter branding, generate interest with an exclusive trial period, get celebrities to tweet about it, and then finally throw it out to their massive and continuously expanding user base.
Rather than creating huge waves from a big splash, Twitter #Music was instead a drop in the ocean, and by August, app analytics company Onavo had placed Twitter #Music at the ‘no-man’s land’ end of its rankings, at #1,672. Just six months on from launching Twitter #Music, it now looks like the app is being shuffled into an early grave…
Another analytics company, AppAnnie, ranked it at #264 in the iTunes Music app just this month; numbers that are crucially lagging for a company the size and influence of Twitter, especially in comparison to the social media giant’s previous success, video-sharing app Vine.
Twitter #Music was the result of the company working towards tapping into the lucrative streaming service market, but rather than compete with market leaders like Spotify, Rdio, and iTunes, Twitter’s music app instead integrated with these three services, essentially making users’ ‘double up’ on their existing accounts in order to use the service efficiently.
Likewise with the app’s ‘follow’ function, meaning updates from an artist on the Twitter #Music platform meant doubling up on them on the linked Twitter account – needlessly filling up an already cluttered news feed.
The app’s counter-intuitive design and integration is likely owed to the troubles in its isolated development, with the app’s leader, Kevin Thau, leaving the company shortly after Twitter #Music’s launch, as All Things D points out, becoming chief operating officer of Jelly – a startup company founded by Twitter renegade Biz Stone – leaving an already flailing ship without a captain.
Following Thau’s departure, Twitter #Music’s flaws became less of an achilles heel and instead two broken legs that failed to help the app stand strong in its all-important launch phase, particularly in a fiercely competitive online market. Though Twitter #Music beat music streaming services from Google, Amazon, and Sony, it failed to capitalise on its head-start.
Twitter is currently restructuring its music division, hiring former Topspin Media Senior Vice President Bob Moczydlowsky in September, while it continues to focus on a cross-platform strategy, including partnering with Apple for its iTunes Radio service, as well as its ongoing support with Rdio. Farewell Twitter #Music, we hardly used knew you.
