Musicboard, the music discovery and recommendation app, is struggling, users say. Over the past few months, users say apps have been down, websites have gone offline, and Android apps have disappeared from the Play Store.
This has to do with a loyal, albeit small, user base. (The app has been downloaded about 462,000 times to date, according to market intelligence provider Appfigures.) On Reddit, users recommend alternatives and offer each other support while waiting for updates.
It’s not surprising for an app to shut down, but if there is still an active user base, the app usually provides some communication from its operator. But Music Board users say they haven’t heard anything and have to contact news outlets to get in touch with someone even if they can export their data.
Some users have organized an unofficial “Help Save Musicboard” effort to draw attention to the issue. The group is led by a Musicboard user known as Lavarini and is run by volunteers.
TechCrunch reached out to Musicboard for answers for those users, and a short statement was provided. However, the statement did not address long-term issues and dismissed the outage as “temporary downtime.”
A statement shared from the Musicboard team’s email address and signed simply “Musicboard” read:
The app has not been shut down. Our servers experienced some temporary downtime, which is now quickly fixed. And we’re working with the Google Play team to get your app back to the public. Apps will not be shut down without a respectful timeline and official communication to users. The app remains live.
Subsequent questions were not answered.
Musicboard founders Johannes Vermandois and Erik Heimer are also involved in other projects. The company’s AI app, Frank AI, was scheduled to be acquired by a company called Freedom Holdings, Inc., but the potential acquirer terminated its letter of intent in September 2024. Dreamsands, Inc., the company behind Frank AI on the App Store, also operates another AI therapist app, Helm.
Lavarini said in an email that users’ efforts to save the app will continue.
The Help Save Musicboard initiative “aims to support awareness and discussion about the long-term sustainability of the indie app Musicboard and its community,” Lavarini wrote.
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