Less than a month ago Omnifone announced that Rara was for sale. Omnifone’s CEO Jeff Hughes said:
“We’re trying to sell Rara, to be perfectly honest. We’re a B2B company, so we don’t want to run it: it’s not our thing. We’ve nurtured it along and kept it going, and hopefully we’ll find a buyer. If we don’t, we won’t keep it going forever, but it’s a good service and I’d like to see it in the hands of somebody who can market and grow it. That’s not us.”
Omniphone hasn’t found a buyer, and if they don’t find one the service will be shut down.
Music Business Worldwide reports that Rara’s CEO Jez Bell has left the company. Bell is joining PPL as Chief Licensing Officer.
Hughes says Rara is currently breaking even. It’s not making Omnifone any money, and if this carries on it could end up costing them. Hughes says they would need to find a buyer within 6 to 12 months.
Rara is not taking any new subscribers.
Nina Ulloa covers breaking news, tech, and more: @nine_u
Saw this one coming the day it launched.
‘Breaking even’ means it is doing better than any other streaming service.
Actually, this business is spelled ‘Omnifone’, fyi