Report: Sony Shuttering Connect

Sony has decided to give up on the music and video download business, choosing to focus on its struggling PlayStation group instead. The closing of Connect would also mean the loss of at least 20 jobs, paidcontent.org reported over the weekend.

Only the eBooks division of the service will remain, with any employees left over from the transition being reassigned to work on the PlayStation. The change also reflects the climate of the digital music industry, where Apple has a near stranglehold on the market.

Sony Connect chief Steve Banfield will leave the company, putting Tim Schaaff and Fumi Kanagwa to run the remaining portion of the division. It is not clear whether the company will continue to use the Connect name.

The music service suffered from several setbacks and inadequacies that prevented it from ever becoming a serious competitor in the industry. Most problematic was its insistence on the Sony proprietary format, only supported by the company's own players.

Additionally, Sony never gave much attention to the unit, probably due to internal disagreements over its direction, say analysts.