Aussie Streaming Music Service Guvera In Financial Turmoil: Report

Not long ago, Guvera was one of the better options for music streaming. Being free via ad support was its biggest draw, and being Australian-owned didn’t hurt either. Unfortunately, after being turned away by the Australian Securities Exchange in June, Guvera’s gloomy financial position revealed itself — and it wasn’t pretty.

Mumbrella’s Steve Jones has penned an insightful article on the fall of Guvera, with the final straw being the company’s failed ASX listing.

As Jones explains, without the funds from the planned IPO, Guvera was forced to deliver a paid option for its streaming service, basically removing its biggest point of difference to competitors:

…after the failed IPO – Play+ was scrapped altogether with Guvera offering just Play and an ad-free subscription model, Platinum, costing $9.99 per month … The result of the updates was a host of angry users who lost playlists and who were suddenly being forced to pay for what had previously been free. It is believe the number of users has sharply declined.

There’s also mention of 30-odd redundancies the company made — again as a result of the IPO — as well as the situation with Guvera’s advertisers, who have mixed, though “committed” perspectives on exactly what the company’s future is.

Not exactly the greatest news to hear in the Aussie tech space, but the music business has always been a tough one to survive in, no matter the service.

[Mumbrella]


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