Why Vine Shut Down: The Complete Story

PDF download Download Article
A full rundown of why Vine disappeared
PDF download Download Article

From 2013 to 2017, Vine was one of the most popular apps in America. So why did it shut down so suddenly? Vine's six-second looping videos may seem similar to TikToks, but there are a few key differences that led to Vine's rapid downfall. This wikiHow article covers everything you want to know about the disappearance of Vine.

Things You Should Know

  • As new competitors emerged, Vine refused to evolve beyond its core six-second looping video format.
  • Vine struggled to create opportunities for monetization, causing users to leave for other apps.
  • Vine's parent company Twitter shut down Vine in January of 2017.
1

Vine refused to evolve.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Although Vine's unique time constraints facilitated creativity amongst its community and launched the app to stardom, there remained a lot of interest in new short-form video formats. The company refused to consider alternatives to its core model and suffered as a result.
    2. Advertisement
2

Vine lost out to key competitors.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Competitive apps like Instagram and TikTok introduced longer video formats. Instagram was the first Vine competitor to allow its users to record up to fifteen seconds of video, and TikTok soon followed with the approach that has since taken social media by storm.
    • Facebook even banned all Vine content from its platform in an attempt to prioritize its own video content.
3

Opportunities for monetization on Vine were limited.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Creators on Vine monetized their content primarily through third-party sponsorships, but Vine failed to implement additional opportunities for creators to make money.
    • Vine similarly struggled to create opportunities for its own monetization. Despite an influx of money from its early growth, Vine never managed to make money thereafter (outside of residuals from creators' external partnerships) and was left with little reason to keep the company running.
    2. Advertisement
4

Vine faced an ultimatum from its top creators.

PDF download Download Article
  1. A group of 18 creators banded together to request $1.2 million each from Vine in exchange for them to post 12 Vines a month. Because Vine could not afford this kind of payout, these creators left Vine for other apps, driving away billions of monthly views.
5

Vine was crowded out by its own parent company.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Twitter acquired Vine in 2012 (before Vine even launched) to incorporate its video tools into its own app. [1] The parent company soon saw an opportunity to expand its video presence, and use Vine to prop up the Twitter brand, crowding out Vine in the process.
    • Despite its popularity, Twitter has never been a very profitable business itself. Supporting Vine, therefore, became an unaffordable expense. The company shut Vine down in January of 2017.
    2. Advertisement
6

Vine experienced severe turnover in its leadership.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Even with the company experiencing arguably its best year, general manager Dom Hoffman stepped down in January of 2014. His replacement, Colin Kroll, stepped away after just three months in the role. The last remaining member of the original leadership group, Rus Yusupov, was laid off after Twitter restructured the company in 2015.


Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

      You Might Also Like

      2 Easy Ways to Import Twitter (X) to Bluesky
      How to
      Watch TikTok Content Without Having to Install the App
      How to
      Find Out Who Owns an Instagram Account
      3 Simple Ways to Tell if Someone Has Snapchat Plus
      How to
      See Deleted Tweets of Your Own or Others
      Explaining Whether You Look Like Your Inverted or Mirror Image
      How to
      React When Someone Blocks You
      What Does <3 Mean on Social Media?
      Simple Ways to Unfollow on TikTok: Unfollowing Limits & Fixes
      This Story is Unavailable Instagram: 9 Reasons & Fixes
      What Happens When You Block Someone on IG: Will They Know?
      100 Cute, Funny, and Hype Comments for Social Media Posts
      How to
      Search Tweets by Date on the X (Twitter) App
      How to
      Appear Offline on Steam While You're Still Online
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://buildd.co/startup/failure-stories/what-happened-to-vine

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 23,904 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement