Just days after Twitter pulled its failed #Music app from the iOS app store, the social media site is reportedly on the verge of taking a second shot at the music space with a brand new strategy that could be unveiled as early as Friday.
The San Francisco-based company has apparently ditched the idea of launching another standalone app, choosing instead to incorporate “music conversations and content” into the Twitter service, the Wall Street Journal said Wednesday.
Citing a person familiar with the matter as its source, the Journal added that Twitter had recently met with representatives from Beats Music, a relatively new entry into the hugely competitive music streaming market.
Music video company Vevo and Sony Music Entertainment are also said to be in talks with Twitter, possibly to bring “bite-sized music videos” to the platform.
Precisely how Twitter intends to incorporate music content into its service as part of its new approach isn’t currently clear – direct access to music tracks is believed to be unlikely as Twitter isn’t thought to have inked any deals with record companies.
As every user of the short-messaging service well knows, music and musicians have long been a major part of the Twitter experience, with artists making up 7 of the top 10 most followed accounts. However, the site’s attempt to exploit the space with #Music never really took off, ending last week with the company pulling the app from the iOS store less than a year after it launched.
#Music was supposed to help users discover new music based on the kind of artists they followed on Twitter and the music and musicians they tweeted about, with Spotify and Rdio subscribers able to play tracks through the app. However, it was often criticized for offering unreliable and imprecise recommendations – not really what you want with a music discovery service.
Twitter’s #Music project was led by the company’s then business development leader Kevin Thau. However, soon after the app was introduced, Thau left his post, a move that seemed to end any interest in the software inside the company. It didn’t even make it to Android.
But it now seems Twitter wants to have another stab at making a success of music, though this time by expanding services within its existing social media app rather than with another standalone offering. If Thursday’s news turns out to be accurate, we’ll soon find out if the company has managed to learn from its past mistakes.
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