Vivendi Universal has closed the European arm of its MP3.com as part of its ongoing mission to shed many of the excesses of its former chief executive, Jean-Marie Messier. VU bought the online music site two years ago for £265m.
The site, (worth £3bn in the dotcom boom), will close on 8 Aug, and around 20 Europen redundancies are expected. In an effort to salvage something from the wreckage the US arm of the site is up for sale – but analysts doubt that a buyer will be found willing to operate it as a going concern.
Leanne Sharman, the vice president of sales and marketing at MP3.com Europe, said: "We have started to generate significant revenues and now we have got to that stage it is a shame, there's general disappointment among staff and in the industry generally."