In an interview with Radio Free Asia that evening, Wang Zaixin, a paid subscriber to Shrimp Music, said he received a notice that Shrimp would be discontinuing its service. He sees this as a move by Alibaba to reduce its size: “Just this afternoon, because I’m a paying member, I pay a monthly fee. Shrimp is doing well. I reckon that Alibaba affiliates may be dealt with in various ways (shut down), shrimp does not have the sensitivity, and not a financial enterprise, so it is first dealt with (shut down), should be directly related to Ma Yun’s Ali Empire is purged.”
Shrimp music issued a notice, the product off the shelves, stop registration. (Web Image)
“The company said that after 0:00 on February 5, 2021, the shrimp music App from the app store shelves, stop all music content consumption scenarios, only retain the account and web musician withdrawal service. 0:00 on March 5, 2021, in addition to the web musician licensing services to maintain operations, other operations are stopped and shut down the server After 0:00 on March 5, 2021, all other operations will cease and the server will be shut down.
Increased economic costs and political risks
In early November last year, the listing of Ant Group in Hong Kong, founded by Jack Ma, was suddenly called off, and the news that “Shrimp Music” would be closed in January this year came out at the end of the month. Current affairs commentator Zhang Tao believes that the closure of “shrimp music” may be related to operating losses: “Because this Internet ecology is often a winner-takes-all, Ali operating shrimp music increasingly niche, it is squeezed by some large domestic platforms, shrimp music has been losing money. The second factor is that Ali’s platform has become more and more problematic due to the policy suppression and regulation of the Ma Yun system, and even more serious political risks.”
For the “shrimp music” will soon stop service, many fans in the “shrimp music” official microblogging message, begging not to close. Some fans left a message: “Please don’t close, I don’t need 88 members of the VIP, I’m single-charge membership can?” The company’s website is a part of the “Alibaba” brand.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s “Shrimp Music”. (Web photo)
Businessman Zhang Shengqi is also a customer of “Shrimp Music”. He said in an interview with the station that the position of “Shrimp Music” in the Chinese market is very awkward: “There are several platforms for the distribution of original music in China, but some music platforms, its functions can not keep pace with the development of the market. It costs a lot to run a platform with hundreds of independent companies, but the profitability of such music platforms is becoming increasingly difficult to reflect.”
Mr. Zhang said that China’s current Internet entertainment is mainly focused on several major video playback platforms and live entertainment platforms: “In the past few years, live entertainment platforms have gradually attracted the eyeballs of Internet users and occupied the main market position of leisure opinion. Therefore the music appreciation platform demand is decreasing, which is the main factor of shrimp music closed.”
Ali operating “shrimp music” only for the listing?
However, Zhang Shengqi believes that “shrimp music” as a subsidiary of Alibaba, the purpose of operation is not to profit; “as a subsidiary of Ali, the purpose is self-evident, must be to Ali listed volume, brush the flow of water and used. This kind of platform at a glance is a money-losing project, if there is no need to list, shut it down is actually to stop losses.”
In March 2015, “shrimp music” and “daily music” to form “Ali Music”. A few months later, Ali spent money to buy the rights of a number of record companies such as Rolling Stone Music and Huana Records; then the Ocean System, which has “Cool Music” and “Cool Dog Music”, merged with the Tencent System to establish the Tencent Music Entertainment Group. Ali Music” was immediately in a weak position. As of now, the market share of “shrimp music” is 1.8%, about 11 million users.
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