Samsung's answer to Spotify is reportedly laying off dozens of employees

The department behind Samsung's music streaming service Milk Music has been hit with dozens of layoffs, according to Variety.

Up to 15% of Media Solutions Center America's 250 staff have been laid off, according to the Hollywood news outlet's sources.

Milk Music was launched in May 2014, and lets users stream music through curated genre-specific radio stations, similar to Pandora or Spotify. It replaced Music Hub, Samsung's previous subscription music streaming platform.

Media Solutions Center is also responsible for Milk Video and Milk VR. Milk Video offers video streaming while Milk VR curates immerse virtual reality video. Samsung VP of content and services Kevin Swint also recently left the unit, according to Variety's sources.

Meanwhile, the streaming business is heating up in a big way. Spotify, one of the biggest names in the business, announced video streaming and a slew of other new features earlier this week.

Earlier this year, Tidal also arrived on a scene - a music streaming platform owned by Jay Z that differentiates itself through high-quality audio.

And Apple is also widely expected to launch a streaming platform later this year, based on the technology it acquired when it bought Beats Music last year. Reports suggest that (unlike Spotify) it will be paid-subscription-only, but may offer free trials of up to three months to entice new users. It is expected to have curated streams and playlists put together by high-profile artists, as well as content exclusive to the platform. It will also reportedly include some social elements, similar to Apple's now-discontinued music social network Ping.

Meanwhile, Samsung is running into difficulties due to a fall in sales in its historically very profitable mobile division. Over the last year, sales in China plummeted by more than 50%, and early shipments of its new flagship phone, the Galaxy S6, look even weaker.

A spokesperson for Samsung told Variety only that the South Korean company "remains committed to delivering engaging, connected entertainment experiences through its Milk platform, and we continue to expand our library of music, video and virtual reality." We have also reached out to Samsung, and will update this story when they respond.