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Live.ly

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Not to be confused with Lively (company) or Lively.
Live.ly
Original author(s)
Developer(s)
    • Musical.ly Inc. (2016–2017)
    • ByteDance (2017–2018)
    • TikTok (2018–present)
Initial releaseiOS
July 24, 2016
Android
September 12, 2016
Final release
August 2, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-08-02)
Preview release
May 2016; 8 years ago (2016-05)
Operating system
SuccessorTikTok
TypeLive streaming
LicenseProprietary software with terms of use

Live.ly (pronounced "Lively", stylized as live.ly) was a live-streaming service created by Musical.ly in 2016, headquartered in Shanghai with an American office in San Francisco. It allowed users to stream live videos, interact through chat, and send virtual gifts, which streamers could monetize.[1] Following its launch, the app amassed over 40 million active users by late 2016.[2][3] In 2018, after ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, Live.ly was merged with TikTok, resulting in its shutdown.[4][5][6]

History

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Founding

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In August 2014, Musical.ly was launched by Musical.ly Inc. The app followed the premise of similar video-sharing platforms, notably Vine.[7] It gained popularity mostly among teenagers. By June 2016, Musical.ly had an active user base of roughly 90 million.[8]

In May 2016, Musical.ly announced the launch of Live.ly as a competitor to other social media platforms releasing live streaming services. Musical.ly initiated beta testing of the platform in the same month. Live.ly was published on the iTunes Store in late June 2016 and gained a significant user base shortly after its release.[2]

On July 24, 2016, Musical.ly officially released Live.ly globally at VidCon.[2]

Growth

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Live.ly's launch in May 2016 leveraged Musical.ly's existing user base of 90 million, positioning it as an extension of the platform.

By October 2016, Live.ly had surpassed Twitter's Periscope iOS app,[9] amassing approximately 40 million active users. The top 10 Live.ly accounts collectively earned US$46,000 in just a two-week period from virtual gifts sent by users.[10]

Merger into TikTok

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In June 2018, Live.ly was removed from app stores in preparation for its merger with TikTok.[5] ByteDance, the company that acquired Musical.ly and Live.ly, announced that they would merge into one app, allowing users to watch videos and view live streams seamlessly.[11]

On August 2, 2018, Live.ly was merged with TikTok[citation needed], along with Musical.ly, following ByteDance's acquisition for a reported US$1 billion.[11] After Live.ly's shutdown, users were directed to a similar live-streaming platform, LiveMe.[12]

Criticism and controversies

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Paul Zimmer accusations

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In April 2017, Internet personality Paul Zimmer (Troy Becker) was accused of financially exploiting his young fans by failing to deliver on promised shout-outs and personal messages. Zimmer frequently neglected to fulfill these promises, often ignoring requests or declining to give shout-outs. The hashtag #BanPaulZimmer quickly gained traction on Musical.ly and Live.ly in response to Zimmer's behavior. Consequently, Zimmer deleted all videos where he made such promises and took an 18-month hiatus from social media.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Roof, Katie (27 May 2016). "Musical.ly launches live.ly for live streaming". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Wallenstein, Andrew (June 24, 2016). "Musical.ly May Be the Spoiler in Livestream Race with Launch of Live.ly". Variety. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Manavis, Sarah (15 May 2018). "Live.ly is the latest place for adults to extract money from kids online". New Statesman. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  4. ^ Perez, Sarah (13 June 2018). "Musical.ly kills its standalone live-streaming app Live.ly". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (13 June 2018). "Musical.ly Shuts Down Live.ly, Will Merge Live-Streaming Into Main App". Variety. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  6. ^ Kundu, Kishalaya (August 2, 2018). "Musical.ly App To Be Shut Down, Users Will Be Migrated to TikTok". Beebom. Archived from the original on October 5, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  7. ^ Carson, Biz (28 May 2016). "How a failed education startup turned into Musical.ly, the most popular app you've probably never heard of". Business Insider. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  8. ^ Dan Rys (June 29, 2016). "Fresh Off a Big Funding Round, Musical.ly Signs Its First Major Label Deal with Warner Music". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  9. ^ Spangler, Todd (30 September 2016). "Musical.ly's Live.ly Is Now Bigger Than Twitter's Periscope on iOS (Study)". Variety. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  10. ^ Spangler, Todd (31 October 2016). "Musical.ly Live-Streaming Stars Are Earning Thousands of Dollars From Adoring Fans". Variety. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b Lin, Liza; Winkler, Rolfe (November 9, 2017). "Social-Media App Musical.ly Is Acquired for as Much as $1 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. New York City. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  12. ^ Perez, Sarah (23 July 2018). "Musical.ly's shutdown of Live.ly was contractually obligated". TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  13. ^ Manavis, Sarah (8 January 2020). "The strange case of Paul Zimmer, the influencer who came back as a different person". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
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