The online music streaming arena has become increasingly crowded over the past few years. A number of new music apps and services have recently launched to heat up the competition. In that context, it isn’t all too surprising that the popular music streaming startup, Rdio, has decided to lay off an unspecified number of staff members.
Rdio has been rather mute about the reasons for these lay-offs. Neither has the company confirmed the exact number of staff members it is laying off or the departments that will be impacted.
According to a statement released by the company, ‘Rdio confirmed making across-the-board workforce reductions today to improve its cost structure and ensure a scalable business model for the long-term.’
Unconfirmed reports suggest, though, that the major impact will be on the engineering department which will see a significant cut down in its size. In all, 35 people may get the axe in what appears like an attempt to gear up the profitability of the company.
It is interesting to note here that for quite some time, Rdio hasn’t released any numbers on its revenue or the profits it is making, if any. The startup has raised some $17.5 million from a number of investors so far. These investors will want a return on these funds, sooner or later. So it is only natural that with more and new music streaming apps springing up in the mobile arena, Rdio will have to gear up for the competition. The lay-offs may be an attempt to do just that.
Courtesy: TechCrunch
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