14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, Redmond-based software giant Microsoft announced a series of changes in its smartphone strategy, many of which will affect a large number of employees in the former Nokia Devices and Services division, and some more info on what will happen with the MixRadio music service is now available.
Just as rumored following the company’s official announcement, MixRadio will eventually spin off into a third-party service, at least this is what Jyrki Rosenberg, MixRadio boss, tells Music Ally in an exclusive interview.
“Basically, we’re planning a spin-off. Microsoft is going to focus on developing and maintaining the best operating system for consumers to use music and entertainment with their choice of third-party applications,” he says.
Even so, Microsoft and MixRadio will continue to work together and the service will still be pre-loaded on Windows Phone devices moving forth.
However, MixRadio will become an independent company, one that expects to be able to broaden its horizon. Jyrki Rosenberg also confirms that he is already looking for new investors.
“For me personally it’s very exciting. I’ve been meeting with potential investors around the world in the last few weeks. We have very strong interest from investors in the US, Europe and Asia, and we remain open for further discussions,” he says.
However, no specific info on what we’ll see next from MixRadio has been provided as of now, though Rosenberg does say that they are currently focused on offering a great personal experience to users via curated mixes (playlists).
Given that it is no longer tied to Microsoft, MixRadio could soon arrive on other mobile operating systems out there, such as Android and iOS, yet details on this have yet to be shared.
“The opportunity in this kind of setup is vast, and it’s much greater than what we’ve been able to benefit from today. “I have to say, though, the business relationship we’ve enjoyed with Microsoft’s device group has been tremendous, and we’re privileged to be continuing that relationship,” Rosenberg says.
What remains to be seen is what business model MixRadio will adopt moving forth. At the moment, the service is free to use and also ad-free, but that won’t work once it becomes an independent entity.
Most probably, an ad-supported business will be built to keep the service running, which will be paired with the already available MixRadio+ paid offering, which is priced at €3.99 ($5.4) per month.
The premium offering includes unlimited track skips and cached mixes, along with better audio quality and the option to stream music to other devices via an HTML5 site.