F.Y.I.

Rdio accepts advertising with free streams

Music streaming service Rdio has opened up to advertisers creating a free service, and brought in more personalisation and discovery.

SYDNEY (4 September, 2014) – Rdio, a leading global music streaming service available in 60 countries, today updates its app to lead with a free internet radio service and introduces a suite of new features making it even easier for subscribers to listen to music any way they want, from stations to playlists to albums and to songs. Rdio’s free stations-first offering features 15 times more music than the leading internet radio service and a wide variety of station types including algorithmic artist and genre-based stations; human curated stations programmed to fit any mood or activity; personalised stations tuned to each individual listener, and stations based on tastemakers.

Anyone can now instantly enjoy rich, programmed free stations – no trial or subscription necessary – and can enjoy all of the new features cross platform. This product update underscores Rdio’s commitment to creating the best in class streaming Internet radio experience through personalised music discovery, coupled with a best in class on-demand subscription offering.

The new features include:

  • Home, an evolving and constantly refreshing feed of personalised music stories that surfaces the best of Rdio in a single destination. Stories are built around the listener’s music preferences, recent activity from tastemakers and friends, recommendations from Rdio experts, and more.
  • Favourites, expanding listeners’ collections so they can keep track of everything they love, all in one place.
  • Browse, where Rdio’s new curated stations can be explored.
  • Trending, see which stations, songs, albums, artists, or playlists are popular among all Rdio music lovers, or toggle to people you follow and make it more personal.

“We are in the very early days of the era of streaming music and there is a huge opportunity to bring this remarkable experience to people around the world,” said Anthony Bay, CEO of Rdio. “For the first time in history, it is possible to have access to all of the world’s music through a single application – anytime and anywhere – tuned to you.   We’re focused on offering the world’s best music experience built around the listener.  We now lead with a free stations experience combined with the ability to upgrade to a full on-demand subscription service that offers access to any song, album or playlist and additional stations features.  Internet radio and music subscription have traditionally been seen as two different options – we believe there are compelling reasons for them to go hand-in-hand as one.”

A global initiative, the free service is made possible through innovative advertising and promotion partnerships. Locally over the past 12 months, Rdio has forged strong relationships with partners including NOVA Entertainment – Rdio’s Joint Venture partner in Australia – and News Corp Australia among others. In Australia, NOVA Entertainment leverages Rdio as its digital platform and brings a massive audience of broadcast listeners to Rdio, while News Corp shares the opportunity to access Rdio’s extensive music library and leading streaming technology with its digital subscribers.

Rdio also participates in and supports the Australian music industry through several initiatives and partnerships. In the past 12 months, Rdio has partnered with music festivals across all genres including Laneway Festival, Future Music, Big Day Out and Stereosonic, demonstrating a commitment to local live music. In 2013, Rdio also partnered with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards, underlining a further investment towards the Australian music industry.

Continued Growth Through Global Reach and Strategic Partnerships

The company’s commitment to expanding its reach to every device can be seen through strategic API partnerships with brands in connected device, mobile apps and automotive:

  • Roku, a leading streaming entertainment platform, is the first to integrate Rdio’s free stations API, making Rdio its featured music partner, and with certain Roku products can offer instant access with the touch of the Rdio button on the Roku remote control;

  • Shazam® users can now connect their Rdio account to get the tracks they discover automatically added to Rdio playlists. Rdio users can also go beyond the preview, playing full tracks from Rdio right in Shazam;

  • SoundHound also connects listeners directly with Rdio and enables every song discovered to be played back “in app” and also linked to a playlist in Rdio;

  • Rdio provides interactive streaming music for all Tesla Model S vehicles in Europe.

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