AOL Is Shutting Down AOL Music And Firing Staff Who Are Live-Tweeting The Bloodbath

While there’s still few details and no official announcement, AOL is shutting down its AOL Music news properties and is firing their employees, according to tweets from the official AOL Music site Spinner’s account and some staff. Poor performance due to competition from independent bloggers may be to blame. However, reports indicate Winamp, SHOUTcast, and flagship music blog Spinner may survive.

AOL Music operates a variety of music news websites for different genres, the SHOUTcast Internet radio site, and the historic Winamp player it acquired in 2009 along with Spinner in a $400 million acquisition of Nullsoft.

Here’s how the pink slips flew this morning. First, Spinner tweeted: “@Spinner: All of AOL Music is shutting down. Thank you all for your support. We had such a blast.” However, it appears that tweet has since been deleted. You can see retweets of it here, though.

Later, Spinner Editor Dan Reilly tweeted:

Well, we all just got laid off. AOL Music is finished.

— Dan Reilly (@danreilly11) April 26, 2013

Then Reilly and several other Spinner employees began essentially live-tweeting the demise of the site they ran:

Sitting in an HR meeting right now, trying to negotiate keeping our computers for a few more days.

— Dan Reilly (@danreilly11) April 26, 2013

Well, at least I found a good reason to finish off the whiskey at my desk.

— Dan Reilly (@danreilly11) April 26, 2013

Paul Cantor, the hip-hop editor of Spinner wrote:

Just lost my job. Actually I'm in the room losing it right this second, while tweeting. So yeah, hit me with any opportunities.

— Paul Cantor (@PaulCantor) April 26, 2013

The AOL Radio gave some official condolences but noted it will stay open:

It's a sad day here at @AOL. We'd like to say goodbye to our colleagues at @AOLMusic, @TheBootdotcom, @Noisecreep, @Spinner and @TheBoombox

— What to Watch (@WhatToWatchAOL) April 26, 2013

For those who are inquiring, @AOLRadio will still be around and we will continue to be bringing you the best music experience.

— What to Watch (@WhatToWatchAOL) April 26, 2013

Meanwhile, other music sites such as The Onion’s AV Club are reaching out to the several dozen fired employees with job offers or freelance work, and the canned AOL staff seem receptive.

Along with music.aol.com, AOL Music runs the site The Boot (country music), Noisecreep (metal), Boombox (hip-hop), and Tour Tracker (concert tickets), which presumably are also getting the axe.

While Twitter’s new music app happened to launch last week, it’s unlikely it had anything to do with the AOL Music shut down. Instead, it’s likely a reflection of poor performance by the site. When they started over ten years ago, AOL Music and Spinner were some of the only options out there for breaking music news. But as the music blogosphere blossomed, readership likely fractured to different sites with more specific personalities and genre focuses.

Well from fellow AOL employees (they own TechCrunch too), we give our hearty condolences to the AOL Music and Spinner staffs. Hope that whiskey helps.

Haha. AOL Music is trending on Twitter. Finally figured our social media strategy out!

— Dan Reilly (@danreilly11) April 26, 2013

And thanks to everyone who offered their support today. I'm truly humbled. Now I guess it's time to tie one on.

— Dan Reilly (@danreilly11) April 26, 2013

Update: Perhaps not all is lost, as it seems Reilly has finished his meeting with HR and just tweeted:

Maybe you haven't heard the last of Spinner. I don't know. I'm glad I got to post this last interview today http://t.co/rZv71bGkab

— Dan Reilly (@danreilly11) April 26, 2013

Meanwhile, music writer J Herskowitz has tweeted:

I'm hearing that Winamp/SHOUTcast are still intact. #aol #music

— J Herskowitz 😶 (now on Threads) (@jherskowitz) April 26, 2013