Japanese social app Line plans streaming service

Line Corporation canvasLine, a social and messaging app based in Japan, has announced a new foray into streaming music. Thanks to a partnership with Sony Music and Avex Digital, the company will launch a service called Line Music. According to a brief news post on Line’s website, the three businesses are still working on the details of what Line Music will look like. The end goals of the service seem to be “to provide opportunities for users to be exposed to new music, and to further develop and accelerate the expansion of the music industry as a whole by creating all new ways of enjoying music in the smartphone era.”

The music market in Japan has kept most streaming technology at a distance. CDs are the format of choice, and even the most globally savvy streaming platforms have been unable to gain a foothold thus far. MusicAlly reported that Line Music has 170 million active users, which is a large potential audience.

Anna Washenko