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ANiUTa’s US Service to Shut Down In March 2020


Aniuta LogoEarlier today, ANiUTa announced that they will be shutting their service down in the United States. In a statement on their website, the service stated that they will cease all operations in the region on March 31, 2020. The app will be removed from regional app stores, and user content (including ID, comments, and playlists) will be deleted.

Subscribers of the Japanese service will be unaffected, but ANiUTa urges United States-based subscribers to cancel their accounts with iTunes or Google Play.

In a FAQ on their website, ANiUTa explains their reason for sunsetting their US version:

Given the challenges in creating and maintaining a successful service that meets our users’ expectations, we decided to sunset the US version of ANiUTa. We are committed to focusing on our enterprise efforts, and will continue the development of ANiUTa for our users in Japan.

ANiUTa originally launched in the United States on August 1, 2018. The service is an official app backed by more ten music labels, including Flying Dog, Pony Canyon, and Lantis. The service streams content from more than twenty-five Japanese distributors.

Source: Twitter (aniutaUS)

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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