The app, which jumped to number six in the App Store's rankings after its launch, slid down to 1,672 in Onavo's rankings last August. It will be phased out in the near future, according to sources close to Twitter who spoke to All Things Digital.
Twitter #Music began its decline in popularity as project leader Kevin Thau abandoned the app after being posted as Chief Operating Officer to Jelly, Twitter founder Biz Stone’s new stealth startup. It has never been made available for Android phones, which may have contributed to its poor success, and does not offer as many services as apps such as Spotify - which lets the user play unlimited ad-support music free of charge.
Twitter #Music plays clips of music from existing services such as iTunes and identifies the musicians users follow on Twitter, automatically creating a playlist of music samples from those artists which can be played within the app.
Users who want to play full tracks have to sign in through a premium Spotify or Rdio account, but it allows users to view music listened to by people they are following with the hashtag #nowplaying. Twitter is now likely to further its cross-platform strategy of partnering with other companies and brands on music-related deals.
Earlier this week it was reported the company is planning to launch a standalone direct-messaging application to rival popular apps such as WhatsApp and Snapchat. It would be part of a broader revamp of Twitter's direct-messaging product, which also includes the addition of a new setting that allows users to send and receive direct messages from others without needing to mutually follow one another.
Source: The Telegraph
