The following is a developing story. Please check back for updates throughout the week, including any official confirmations or announcements from AOL.
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Last year, Digital Music News broke the brutal gutting and dismantling of Yahoo Music. Turns out that wasn’t an isolated incident: according to numerous tweets and emails surfacing ahead of the weekend, AOL is now shutting down AOL Music and its subsidiary properties immediately. Staffers were getting laid off on Friday, according to preliminary (and unconfirmed) details.
AOL’s official PR pontiff has yet to confirm the carnage, but here’s a tweet directly from the inside. (Actually, it was quickly deleted, and snapped from the trash by @lorilewis).
That’s Spinner, an early internet radio pioneer transformed into an editorial, aficionado-aimed music site by AOL. Now, it’s just one of several properties getting terminated. At present, it remains unclear if any properties will remain, though it looks like AOL Radio, powered by Slacker, will survive.
Those details aside, the shutdown marks the end of a once-proud ‘music portal’ concept, one predicated on aggregating a large number of musical assets and wrapping an ad-friendly bow around it. Indeed, AOL acquired the once-proud Spinner alongside Nullsoft for $400 million back in 1999, a quaint relic of a dot-bomb era turned sour.
Fast-forward 14 years, and the whole music portal concept still draws some tonnage, though its relevance to music fans is wildly outdated. Instead, fans are now comfortable surfing across a decentralized landscape, one that might include Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, Wikipedia, BitTorrent, Google, Vevo, Pandora, and a few artist and music-focused websites.
And you know how big corporations lay people off, right? The utterly dehumanizing experience typically starts with a deactivation meeting, while things like access codes, access keys and computers are simultaneously nullified and seized. You get a few boxes, and a few hours (if that) to pack it up and leave. Just ask Spinner head Dan Reilly, whose original — and quickly deleted tweet — went something like this…
“Well, we all just got laid off. AOL Music is finished.”
Now, he’s just trying to hold onto some things, even for a few days…
More details ahead.
This did not effect AOL Radio powered by Slacker, Winamp or SHOUTcast. Spinner is the Indie site not Radio.
Should have just killed them all off. AOL Radio is just a shell of Slacker. Winamp is stuck in the 9x era in both appearance and features. Shoutcast was ruined with the indefinite Beta.
AOL had a radio service?
RIP #AOLMusic. Thnks Fr The Mmrs.
Dang.
Let’s blame Digital Music News. After all they didn’t write enough aritcles about AOL Music
One of the last cool things AOL khad going for them
I am so sorry to hear about this. I have been through that sort of layoff process before, once with a music company and other times with high tech places. It can feel very dehumanizing.
I really enjoyed the AOL Live features. But there are just so many things starting and ending. The music business is in such turmoil and high tech things have always been volatile.
I am just so sorry this is happening to all of you.
Bruce