streamzy
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Streamzy was a music playlist startup launched in early 2008 that let users build playlists from songs on YouTube and SeeqPod without hosting any material itself. Built on SeeqPod's API by co-founder Brian Krantz, the service grew to only 2,400 registered users and about 7,000 monthly visitors. On March 30, 2009 the company shut down and put itself - back-end, Flex front-end code, name, logo, and domain - up for sale on eBay with a $1,000 starting bid.
02 / streamzy FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Streamzy died of tiny traction plus music-industry legal heat. The service attracted only 2,400 registered users and 7,000 monthly visitors in over a year - nowhere near a viable business. Worse, its entire foundation was SeeqPod's API, and SeeqPod was being sued by the major labels: Warner Music Group sued in January 2008 and EMI followed a year later, with EMI explicitly naming sites built on SeeqPod's technology. Streamzy itself was never sued, but its founders told the press they couldn't 'take the heat' from the music industry, and the eBay auction looked like a graceful exit from the music streaming arena.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Service launched
Streamzy launched in early 2008 as a playlist builder on top of SeeqPod's API, letting users create playlists from YouTube and SeeqPod songs.
- Legal clouds gather
In January 2008 Warner Music Group sued SeeqPod for streaming music without compensating rights holders; a year later EMI sued and named sites built on SeeqPod's technology - Streamzy's entire foundation.
- Shutdown and eBay sale
On March 30, 2009 Streamzy shut its doors with 2,400 registered users and put everything - back-end, front-end code, name, logo, domain - up for sale on eBay at a $1,000 starting bid; co-founder Brian Krantz confirmed it was no joke.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
On March 30, 2009 Streamzy shut down and listed itself for sale on eBay with a $1,000 starting bid (auction through April 1); the back-end ran free on Google App Engine and the Flex front-end code was included.
- 02
Co-founder Brian Krantz confirmed the sale was genuine.
- 03
The company cited music-industry 'heat' as a factor but was never itself sued; no bankruptcy, debts, or creditor claims were disclosed.