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Yahoo closes music service in China

Web giant quietly announces the service will end next month as part of an adjustment to its product strategy, and follows a similar move by Google in September.
Written by Ryan Huang, Contributor

Web giant Yahoo will shut down its online music service in China from Jan. 20, 2013, as part of a an adjustment to its product strategy.

The company made the announcement in Mandarin on the frontpage of its music portal, and also thanked users for their support.

In a space dominated by local player Baidu, Yahoo's move follows a similar one by Google which shut its Chinese music download service in September and said the impact of its product was "not as great as expected". Google had also pulled the plug on its shopping search service in China last week.

Yahoo China music service
In 2007, Yahoo China was slammed by authorities for infringing copyright laws by allowing pirated music to be downloaded. (source: music.yahoo.cn)

Yahoo's operations in China and globally have been undergoing a reorganization since the arrival of CEO Marrisa Mayer in July. In September, the company finalized a deal to give up its stake in e-commerce giant Alibaba for US$7.6 billion, which Mayer has suggested the proceeds might be used for new acquisitions.

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