Vine
From Invertopedia, the encyclopedia of how things fail
Vine was a Twitter-owned app for six-second looping videos. Twitter bought the three-person startup in October 2012, before it had launched, for a reported $30 million[1][3], and Vine went live on January 24, 2013[4]. It grew its own stars, but in 2015 Vine turned down a request from 18 of them to be paid[2], many top creators stopped posting[9], and Twitter announced the app's end on October 27, 2016[9][10].
Contents
The bet
Short video would be the next Instagram, and a six-second clip would be the video version of a tweet[3][4]. Vine could grow an audience first and work out how to make money from it later. In 2015 the Vine team was focused on growing that audience, and Vine did not make money from its content directly[6].
What happened
| Jun 2012 | Vine is formed in New York as a three-person company.[1] |
|---|---|
| Oct 2012 | Twitter buys Vine before it launches, for a reported $30 million.[1][3] |
| Jan 24, 2013 | Vine launches on the App Store: stitch short clips into one six-second loop.[4] |
| Jun 20, 2013 | Instagram adds 15-second video for its 130 million monthly users.[11] |
| Aug 2015 | Vine says it has 200 million viewers a month.[6] |
| Fall 2015 | 18 of Vine's top creators ask for $1.2 million each to post 12 videos a month and for product changes. Vine says no, and the stars stop posting original work.[2] |
| Jan – Jul 2016 | More than half of Vine's top 9,725 accounts delete their profiles or stop posting, many moving to Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.[9] |
| Jun 2016 | Twitter announces monetization for Vine creators.[10] |
| Oct 27, 2016 | Twitter says it will discontinue the Vine app, on the day it announces layoffs of 9 percent of its staff.[9][10] |
| Jan 17, 2017 | The app becomes Vine Camera, which can only post to Twitter or save to the phone.[5][12] |
The kill shot
Vine's stars were the product, and it did not pay them. When the people making the videos asked for money, Vine said no, and they took their audiences to apps that would.
The creators who met Vine in 2015 had noticed engagement falling and asked for $1.2 million each, plus anti-harassment tools, links in captions and better editing[2]. "They never made changes, or when they did it was too late," one organizer told Mic[2].
Twitter could not make money from Vine, and marketers lost interest as Snapchat and Instagram grew[3]. Monetization arrived in June 2016[10]; by July, more than half of the top accounts had gone quiet since the start of the year[9]. When Twitter cut costs that October, Vine was treated as non-core[3].
Red flags ignored
- Stars with no pay. Vine made celebrities but offered them no direct way to earn on the app.[10]
- Bigger rivals copied the format. Instagram added video with 130 million users behind it.[11]
- Engagement falling. Creators saw it before the company acted on it.[2]
- An owner in trouble. Twitter was cutting costs and facing sale rumors when it shut Vine.[9]
The cost
A reported $30 million purchase[1][3], four years of running costs, and an audience of 200 million monthly viewers in 2015[6]. The 18 creators asked for $1.2 million each, about $21.6 million across the group[2], and Vine let them walk[2].
The inversion
If creators are your product, pay them before a rival does. Build the money for the people who make the content before you build the audience.
What survived
The format. When the app closed, Vine's website was kept as an archive of old clips[5]. Co-founder Rus Yusupov answered the shutdown with a tweet: "Don't sell your company!"[9]
Successors. Co-founder Dom Hofmann launched Byte in January 2020, with a planned revenue share for creators[7]. In November 2025 a project funded by Jack Dorsey opened diVine, with more than 100,000 restored Vines[8]. It officially launched in August 2026 after a beta, with an archive of more than 2 million original Vine posts, CNN reported[13].
References
- ^ “Twitter Buys Vine, a Video Clip Company That Never Launched”. AllThingsD, October 9, 2012. Twitter's purchase, Vine as a three-person New York company formed in June 2012 that had not launched, co-founders Hofmann and Kroll.
- ^ “Vine Stars Wanted $1.2M Each to Stay on the App”. PCMag via Fox Business, October 31, 2016. Mic's report of 18 creators asking $1.2 million each for 12 posts a month, their product requests, Vine's refusal, and co-founders Yusupov and Kroll.
- ^ “I Still Can't Believe Twitter, Inc. Spent $30 Million on Vine”. The Motley Fool via Fox Business, May 25, 2017. The $30 million price, Vine as a video version of a tweet, monetization trouble and the non-core cut.
- ^ “Twitter's 6-Second Video Sharing App, Vine, Goes Live In The App Store”. TechCrunch, January 24, 2013. The January 24, 2013 launch and how the app worked.
- ^ “Vine as we know it shuts down on January 17th”. Engadget, January 4, 2017. The January 17, 2017 switch to Vine Camera and the website kept as an archive.
- ^ “What Can Vine Be for Twitter Inc?”. The Motley Fool, November 8, 2015. 200 million monthly viewers (announced August 2015) and no direct monetization.
- ^ “Vine successor Byte is available now on iOS and Android”. The Verge, January 24, 2020. Hofmann's Byte launch and its planned revenue share for creators.
- ^ “Jack Dorsey funds diVine, a Vine reboot that includes Vine's video archive”. TechCrunch, November 12, 2025. diVine, funded by Dorsey's nonprofit, with more than 100,000 restored Vines.
- ^ “Vine Is Shutting Down, Twitter Says”. Business Insider, October 27, 2016. The shutdown announcement, the layoffs, creators leaving (Makerly data), sale rumors and Yusupov's tweet.
- ^ “Twitter Is Shutting Down Vine”. Variety, October 27, 2016. The October 27, 2016 announcement, 9 percent layoffs, lack of monetization driving creators away, monetization announced June 2016.
- ^ “Instagram launches 15-second video feature”. CNN via FOX6 Milwaukee, June 20, 2013. Instagram's 15-second video for 130 million monthly users.
- ^ “Vine app will shut down and become Vine Camera on January 17th”. The Verge, January 5, 2017. Vine Camera posts only to Twitter or the camera roll.
- ^ “A new app is bringing Vine back, with a very 2026 twist”. CNN via KEYT News Channel 3-12, August 23, 2026. diVine's official launch in August 2026 after a beta, and its archive of more than 2 million original Vine posts.