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Considering they didn't even manage to seal the deals, where did all the money go?
There's a bit more on the story here: http://musically.com/2011/12/31/beyond-oblivion-shuts-down-b...
I think this is less a story about a failed News Corp. ambition and more a story about how the music and telephone industries have developed first rate competencies at stifling innovation. Hearing stuff like this makes me really sad for the future of the Internet if everything new & exciting will need a gatekeeper or two to sign off on it. I don't know how viable the business model was, or why they needed $87m to pro…
In fact, you can get this service on your phone right now from Rhapsody for $10/mo. Assuming a two year phone life, this roughly translates into taking a $240 service and charging $60 for it (75% less).
Lets look at what that breaks down to in a simplistic model where half the fees go to the content pool and the four majors split equally.
Rhapsody: $120 / 2 (years) / 4 (majors) = $15/year
Oblivion: $30 / 2 (years) / 4 (majors) = $3.75/year
Compare that to something like $7 per title sold and you find that it'd only be clearly beneficial to a label in the case where that user would have otherwise purchased none of your music at all during that period.
was all of the 87 million used?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
heh - yeah, that's like 10-20 startups worth of cap! ;)
Or 1.5 Color's worth.
Sad news. My neighbor was one of their developers. I couldn't believe it when he told me he was looking for a new job. Sounded like it came as a big surprise. On the same note, I know a guy looking for a new gig. Anyone hiring? :)