Nokia’s name and products have slowly been disappearing from Windows Phone ever since Microsoft acquired Nokia’s Devices & Services division earlier this year. Microsoft now sells its own-branded Lumia smartphone, and today the Redmond firm announced that it’s sold Nokia’s MixRadio music service.
Microsoft has agreed to sell MixRadio to Line, the company behind one of the world’s most popular messaging apps. The team behind MixRadio will remain based in the U.K. after the deal is completed, which is expected to happen in early 2015.
MixRadio is currently available in 31 countries, and it’s expected that Line will expand it to more users around the globe. MixRadio is a free music streaming service that offers personalized radio stations that will improve and know you better the more you listen. The service doesn’t require a signup and doesn’t have ads. There is a paid tier that includes unlimited track skips, unlimited offline mixes and high-quality audio while on Wi-Fi.
Microsoft has its own Xbox Music streaming service, so the sale of MixRadio doesn’t leave it without a music offering. Meanwhile, Line hopes to become more of a total package app and offer an alternative to illegal music downloads.
Have you ever used MixRadio?