Beats pulls the plug on MOG streaming music service
A note on the site encourages subscribers to switch to Beats, which Apple is in the process of acquiring for $3 billion.
Beats Electronics has shut down MOG, less than two years after it acquired the paid streaming music service.
The service, which Beats bought in 2012 for $14 million, shut down on Saturday, according to a message posted on the site's home page. It now invites users to switch to the Beats Music service, with a 60-day free trial.
MOG was due to be discontinued on April 15 but was given a temporary reprieve. Beats said it concluded monthly billing on May 1 and that all annual subscriptions would be refunded on a prorated basis.
MOG was founded in 2005 by David Hyman, a former CEO of Gracenote and ex-MTV exec. Although he was expected to stay on to help oversee the music service, Hyman abruptly stepped down as CEO of the company he sold earlier that year to Beats. While Beats is best known for a top-selling line of headphones, it also plays in the competitive market for subscription-based, streaming music.
Hyman filed a lawsuit against Beats last month, claiming he was owed $20 million in compensation that was unfairly denied, according to 9to5Mac.
The on-demand subscription service won solid reviews but failed to gain much traction in a crowded field already dominated by Spotify, Rdio, and Pandora. Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine said in January that he planned to combine the MOG technology with the Beats brand to create what eventually launched as Beats Music in January.
Apple confirmed long-standing rumors last week when it announced its intention to pay $3 billion to acquire Beats, co-founded by famed record producer Iovine and rapper and record producer Dr. Dre. Beats' nascent music subscription service is expected to give a boost to Apple's iTunes Radio offering.
(Via TechCrunch)