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Online music streaming service Rdio is announcing the launch of a free, ad-supported music service along with a new, $100 million partnership with radio operator Cumulus, reports The New York Times.
The move comes as Apple is officially launching its own ad-supported music streaming service, iTunes Radio, this week on September 18 with the public release of iOS 7. Currently, plans for Rdio start at $4.99 for web-only streaming, while unlimited web and mobile streaming is priced at $9.99.
Crucially for Rdio, which was introduced in 2010 and has struggled to gain a foothold in the market, Cumulus will also sell advertising for a free version of the service in the United States. Rdio, which costs $5 to $10 a month and is available in 31 markets around the world, lets its subscribers listen to millions of songs, build playlists and interact with other users.
Last month, rival music service Pandora announced that it was going to remove its 40-hour free listening limit ahead of the launch for Apple’s iTunes Radio, stating that it would again allow unlimited listening via mobile devices. Rdio updated its iOS app [Direct Link] with highly personalized radio stations early last month, and the app currently holds a four-star rating with over 9000 reviews since its release in October 2011.
Top Rated Comments
You know, besides the fact that they pay out essentially nothing (http://turtlepie.org/post/2013/5/independent-musician-broke) to independent musician. Good for them.
Got it....:cool:
I fell your pain. But soon(I hope), soon they'll iron out the contract deals and we'll get at least iTunes Radio. Apple tends to keep pushing into more and more markets with their services. I doubt they hold stuff back on purpose, pretty sure it's usually because of legal/contract stuff.
Spotify, Rdio et al, just don't turn enough revenue to really pay artists anything---it's quite pathetic.