E-commerce firm Flipkart will close its music download service, Flyte, due to problems such as music piracy and micro-payments.
Flyte, which was started over a year ago, allows people to download music at affordable prices. Flipkart claims that the service has about 1,00,000 customers.
When contacted, Flipkart Head (Digital Media and Payments), Mekin Maheshwari said: “We set up Flyte MP3s a year back in what was an extremely nascent industry. The aim was to bring legal digital content to consumers in India.”
In a short span of time Flyte built a massive digital music catalogue at very affordable prices along with a loyal base of nearly 1,00,000 customers, he added.
“However, we have realised that the music downloads business in India will not reach scale unless several problem areas such as music piracy and easy micro-payments are solved in great depth.
“Which is why, we feel that at present, it makes sense to take a step back from Flyte MP3s and revisit the digital music market opportunity at a later stage,” he said.
The music download service is expected to shut shop from next month.
Started in 2007, Flipkart sells movies, music, games, mobiles, cameras, computers, healthcare and personal products, home appliances and electronics among other items through its online platform.