This article was published on May 21, 2014

Bloom.fm to shut down after last-ditch attempt to find a new buyer falls short


Bloom.fm to shut down after last-ditch attempt to find a new buyer falls short

There was a chance it could be saved, but Bloom.fm has now confirmed that its beautiful music streaming service will be shut down.

The London-based startup announced it would close three weeks ago, after its sole investor TNT “unexpectedly” pulled funding. Bloom.fm quickly set up a bidding process in an attempt to find a new buyer, but it wasn’t successful.

“We just found out that we were unable to save Bloom.fm,” the company said. “We were very close to coming out the other side of this. But, alas, it wasn’t to be.”

Bloom.fm’s assets are now up for sale and it will cease operations in the next couple of days. Oleg Fomenko, CEO and co-founder of Bloom.fm, said there was interest from potential buyers, but that it couldn’t finalize a standout bid.

“It would have allowed Bloom to continue in the spirit we originally intended,” he said. “We have worked furiously on finalising it but unfortunately, due to very tight timelines and complexities associated with the administration process, the deal fell through at the last minute.”

Bloom.fm was a mobile-centric music streaming service for listeners in the UK. A Web-based version was in development and it differed from competitors such as Spotify by offering multiple paid-for tiers. In addition to its unlimited on-demand service, users could choose cheaper subscriptions that allowed them to “borrow” a limited number of tracks.

Image Credit: ROLAND WEIHRAUCH/AFP/GettyImages

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