Australia is currently one of the most crowded markets in the world for streaming music services, with 27 in operation. Well, make that 26: Songl is shutting down just 18 months after launching as a joint venture between major labels Universal and Sony, and radio group Southern Cross Austereo. Users have been told that “we are not continuing our on demand music subscription service after September 25, 2014″, with plans afoot to help them export their playlists to other services. Songl launhed in closed beta in late 2011 in Australia, but by March 2013 was attracting the ire of indie licensing agency Merlin for its lack of deals with its members: “Merlin tried to have a discussion with the major label proprietors of Songl to license our music, but they simply haven’t bothered to do so,” said Merlin boss Charles Caldas at the time (Bulletin, 22-Mar-13). We suspect Songl won’t be the last service to close its doors in Australia, as consolidation takes hold in the streaming market.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…