Samsung’s Milk services hit by big layoffs

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Samsung’s free music service, Milk, is barely a year old, but it’s already experiencing some major growing pains.

According to Variety, the service, along with Milk Video, has reportedly been hit by a number of big layoffs, casting doubt over Samsung’s future content plans. As much as 15-percent of the workforce dedicated to the services have been let go, suggesting all is not well with Milk, which is a Galaxy-exclusive feature on mobile.

Variety says Samsung declined to confirm or deny the rumor, instead deflecting the question by saying the company is “committed to delivering engaging, connected entertainment experiences through its Milk platform.” Naturally.

In March, Milk Music expanded to the Web, though it’s unclear how many people latched onto the service with wider availability. Meanwhile, back in December, Samsung also launched Milk VR Video, while Milk Video only just launched back in November. Either word isn’t getting out that Samsung is offering these services, or Galaxy owners just don’t care.

Samsung has made previous efforts to get into the media business, but thus far nothing has caught on with consumers. It doesn’t appear that its Milk services are performing any better—at least according to Variety’s report. The services are still very young, so there’s a possibility that as mindshare grows, market share and engagement will follow.

If Samsung’s own services don’t pan out, Variety says the company may look to third-party partnerships going forward, though the details of any potential details remain unclear.

The timing of the news is especially bad. Not only is Spotify getting better, but Apple is rumored to introduce a subscription-based music streaming service this summer, which would mean that is just that much more competition.

Source: Variety

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