• Windows Phone Area
• On December 19, 2014

MixRadio will continue as a third-party app

Relatively popular messaging service LINE has reached an agreement with Microsoft to acquire the music streaming app MixRadio. Microsoft bought MixRadio from Nokia as part of the Device & Services unit, but Redmond revealed that the former Nokia Music app would be sold to a third-party company that would develop the app independently.

LINE has developed its own music service called LINE Music and with the acquisition of MixRadio the company will try to expand its presence in other markets. MixRadio is currently offering free music streaming in a radio-way and the deal is not going to affect the Windows Phone consumers. MixRadio team will also develop Android and iOS apps in the future.

LINE is a social / messaging service established in 2011 in Japan with over 560 million customers around the globe. The app works on all popular mobile platforms, Windows OS and OXS, and offers text messaging, free video and voice calls. Users can exchange photos and files, create groups and boards, change the theme, and more.

So, Microsoft will rely entirely on its subscription based Xbox Music but we can expect more functionalities and even free-streaming to arrive in 2015. According to internal sources, Microsoft might be working on a cloud based streaming service integrated with Xbox Music and OneDrive.

Source: Lumia Conversations