• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Twitter Invests in Headphone Maker Muzik—But Why?

By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 4, 2016, 11:27 AM ET
Twitter Goes Public On The New York Stock Exchange
Andrew Burton Getty Images

Twitter faces a number of significant problems as it enters the new year, including the fact that its user growth remains anemic, and its share price reflects those challenges: It has lost more than 30% of its value in just the last three months.

Given that kind of backdrop, it seems more than a little odd to learn that the company’s venture-capital arm has invested in Muzik, a startup that makes wireless headphones, according to a report at Re/code.

WATCH: Alyssa Milano says Twitter can change the world

Admittedly, these headphones apparently have social-media functions built into them, which allow users to share the songs they are listening to on Twitter (TWTR) and other networks such as Facebook. Presumably, Twitter is hoping it can get some traction with music fans by allowing them to share music more easily.

But is this really the kind of thing the company needs to be doing right now? Even if the investment isn’t a large one, Twitter seems to have much more compelling needs, such as fixing the problems with its existing product.

SIGN UP: Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

Music has been a tantalizing market for some time now, in part because it is one of the leading topics of discussion on Twitter. But the company has repeatedly failed to make much of it, despite repeated efforts. Its Twitter Music project failed to make much of an impression, despite a rather larger investment of time and money, and hardware is an even tougher game.

Perhaps Twitter is hoping it might be able to cash in when Muzik gets acquired, but the chances of the company signing an Apple-Beats style deal seem astronomical at best.

Plenty of companies have venture-capital arms that invest in other startups, and it’s theoretically possible that Twitter could get something out of its Muzik financing. But when you are losing ground as quickly as Twitter is, it’s probably a better idea to stay focused on your core product rather than hunting unicorns.

About the Author
By Mathew Ingram
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

A smartphone displaying the Google Gemini logo.
AIEye on AI
As ‘agentic commerce’ gains ground, companies shouldn’t put too much faith in ‘GEO,’ one industry insider warns
By Jeremy KahnJanuary 13, 2026
3 hours ago
AIChatbots
Being mean to ChatGPT can boost its accuracy, but scientists warn you may regret it
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 13, 2026
4 hours ago
AIGoldman Sachs Group
‘Humans could go the way of horses’: Goldman calculated how bad the AI ‘job apocalypse’ will be—and its analysts were pleasantly surprised
By Jim EdwardsJanuary 13, 2026
5 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg
Future of WorkMeta
Meta is changing its performance review to reward output over effort, taking a page from Amazon and X
By Jake AngeloJanuary 13, 2026
5 hours ago
Warren Buffett on the phone
SuccessProductivity
Gen X CEO uses AI versions of Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett as a ‘fantasy board of directors’ to help him prepare for meetings and performance reviews
By Preston ForeJanuary 13, 2026
5 hours ago
Mercor Founders - Adarsh Hiremath, Brendan Foody
AIskills
Chief people officers—and Jamie Dimon—say AI can’t learn ‘human skills.’ The world’s youngest self-made billionaires want to prove them wrong
By Jake AngeloJanuary 13, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Treasury spent $276 billion in interest on the national debt in the final three months of 2025, says the CBO—up $30 billion from a year prior
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 12, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘Sell America’: Investors dump U.S. assets in fear of the end of Fed independence
By Jim EdwardsJanuary 12, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Newsletters
The oil CEO who stood up to Trump is a follower of the disciplined 'Exxon way' and has a history of blunt statements
By Jordan BlumJanuary 13, 2026
12 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Tech
Elon Musk asked people to upload their medical data to X so his AI company could learn to interpret MRIs and CT scans
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 11, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
An exec at $62 billion giant Colgate says Gen Z workers, despite getting flak for being woke and lazy, are actually ‘pushing us to get better’
By Emma BurleighJanuary 10, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The longer the Supreme Court delays its tariff decision, the better it is for President Trump
By Jim EdwardsJanuary 13, 2026
11 hours ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.