Apple reportedly wants to get rid of free on-demand music
Good luck with that
Love free stuff? Then you won’t like Apple’s new music subscription service, which the company is expected to launch later this year.…
Rdio
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Rdio launches in 24 additional countries
Time to bust out the maps
Music subscription service Rdio launched in another 24 countries Thursday. The list of new markets for Rdio includes the Cayman Islands, Haiti and…
Following earlier Dhingana acquisition, Rdio launches in India
Big market, small price
Music subscription service Rdio launched in India Thursday, offering local users access to a catalog of more than 32 million songs. Rdio’s…
Spotify launches family plan, offering up to four extra accounts at a 50 percent discount
The feature, which allows multiple accounts to be linked to one billing account, will roll out in the coming weeks.
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Bop.fm wants to bring on-demand streaming to Pandora users
Liked a song on Pandora? Now you can revisit it and listen to it again.
With new apps and a free, ad-supported tier, Rdio chases after Pandora
Online music service Rdio is finally living up to its name with a free, ad-supported radio tier as well as new apps that are meant to simplify the experience and boost engagement.
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Sneak peek: Rdio is getting ready to launch a completely revamped Roku app
Rdio has long neglected the living room, but now, the music subscription service is getting ready to relaunch its Roku app. Here’s a first look.
Samsung is hiring to build a new mobile video service
Following the launch of its new Milk music streaming service, Samsung is now busy assembling a team to build a new video service.
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Rdio will launch free, ad-supported service later this year, add traditional radio content
Rdio is working on launching a new free and ad-supported offering during thre second half of this year. The service will also get more non-music content from part-owner Cumulus.
Rdio partners with Shaw to grow subscriber base in Canada
Streaming music service Rdio has teamed up with Canadian broadband provider Shaw to grow its subscriber base in the country, both companies…
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Rdio buys music subscription service Dhingana to enter India
Spotify competitor Rdio has acquired the Indian music subscription service Dhingana, according to local media reports that have since been confirmed by…
Beats Music and Rdio to support Chromecast, Spotify still on the fence
Chromecast is getting more music content soon, courtesy of Beats and Rdio. Spotify on the other hand seems to be busy with other things.
A first look at the Beats Music website, with plenty of leaked screenshots
Beats Music isn’t going to launch for another week, but we found the door to its website unlocked, and couldn’t help us but snoop around.
Rdio’s would-be Netflix killer, the streaming video service Vdio, calls it quits
Rdio is giving up on Vdio, its streaming video service that at one point was meant to compete with Netflix. Maybe it’s just too hard to take on the video subscription market leader?
The honest Sonos Play:1 review: six weeks with a $200 internet-connected speaker
I’ve been testing Sonos’ new entry-level Play:1 speaker for a little over a month now, and I’ve learned to love the device, but also gotten frustrated by some of its shortcomings.
Rdio hit with layoffs despite tripling number of new sign-ups
Rdio may have tripled the number of new sign-ups this year, but the company still laid off a reported 35 people Tuesday to cut costs.
YouTube is reportedly planning a subscription music service (that will include video, natch)
YouTube is reportedly planning to launch its own subscription music streaming service, which would include video, this year. It will enter a very crowded marketplace.
Rdio takes on Pandora and iRadio with free station streaming on iOS and Android
Rdio wants to grow its user base with the launch of free, ad-free streams on mobile devices. The company isn’t just taking on Pandora, but also beating Spotify to the punch.
Rdio CEO: Bundled music and video coming as part of global subscription
Rdio wants to sell consumers music and video streams as part of a bundled offering to set itself apart from Spotify and others.
Vdio, the online video service run by Rdio, is expanding to Canada
Vdio, the TV and movie-loving sibling of Rdio, is launching in Canada just two months after opening up to the public in the U.S.
Janus Friis’ video service Vdio opens up for everybody. Next up: subscriptions?
Users don’t need a Rdio subscription to access movies and TV shows on Vdio anymore – but the services are working on even closer ties.
Twitter #music wants to be the sharing layer for the music subscription web
Twitter’s #music app was built in secrecy, but engineers from Spotify and Rdio were involved early on. That’s because Twitter wants its app to become the sharing layer for music subscription services.
How Google Music wants to take on Spotify, Rdio and Rhapsody
Google launched its own music subscription service Wednesday. Currently, it’s not very different from all the other services out there. So how does it want to compete?
Skype co-founder Janus Friis is working on a stealthy new product incubator
Skype co-founder Janus Friis is at it again, launching a new, stealthy startup incubator that wants to reuse and share code across a number of projects.
Rhapsody exec: splashy ads and free streaming promotions don’t work
Rhapsody has some advice for its competitors Spotify and Rdio: Don’t invest in splashy ads. Focus on featuring your service instead.
GigaOM Reads: A look back at the week in tech
Its a unicorn. No it’s a phone. Actually it is Facebook Home, for now; Apple’s China Syndrome is making it think different; The Bit coin boom (& bust); Chrome & WebKit go to war and did Vdio really kill the Rdio star?
Podcast: Facebook’s phone-y home, Tesla rides the lightning and Das Boot
In this week’s news wrap up we go “Home” with Facebook’s phone announcement, get electric with Tesla’s lease, and sit down for Vdio.
Four years in the making, Vdio finally opens up to Rdio subscribers in the US and UK
Rdio launched its video service Vdio to the public Tuesday night, offering movies and TV shows for rent and for sale. It’s not a subscription service, but it’s closely tied to Rdio’s music subscriptions.
Spotify hits 6 million paid users as market for music streaming heats up
A report shows that music subscription service Spotify continues to grow at a rapid pace. The growth validates Spotify’s business model but is also inviting a growing cluster of rivals.
Rdio expands global footprint, Spotify reportedly extends free mobile offering
Rdio is coming to Austria, Ireland, Italy and four other countries. Spotify, meanwhile, plans to offer free mobile radio around the world.
Rdio releases new iOS and Android apps with second-screen control
Rdio’s new iOS and Android apps allow users to browse the subscription service’s music catalog on their mobile device, and then initiate playback on their computer. This kind of second-screen activity is a big hit with video services, but it’s fairly novel in the music space.
Here comes Vdio: Janus Friis’ video service launches private beta in UK and US
Janus Friis is slowly taking the wraps off his new service Vdio – and it turns out that it’s not a Netflix killer at all: The company just launched a private beta test in the U.K. and the U.S., offering iTunes-like movie and TV show consumption.
Two years after launch, Rdio finally ready to make a splash
Rdio recently put up big billboards in Times Square and other high-profile places around the country. The ad campaign is part of the company’s efforts to finally introduce itself to a bigger audience after it spent two years working on its product.
Interview: How Deezer’s CEO will spend his €100 million music round
Fresh from raising €100 million, French music service Deezer’s CEO Axel Dauchez tells paidContent he wants to tip-toe around the US and Spotify while using funds to go global.
Pandora now works on 600 different consumer devices
Pandora, the streaming music company wants to replace the traditional radio with its Internet-based music service. And in order to do that, it is embedding itself into many devices and in cars that would come with built in Internet connectivity, CEO Joe Kennedy said recently.
Analyst: Streaming music may already be hitting a ceiling
Subscription music streaming is the new model giving labels hope. But how much room to grow do digital services really have? One analyst reckons the likes of Spotify are doing great, but may have limited growth potential.
Rdio, Vdio tag-team for Skype founders’ music, movie combo
With Janus Friis’ online video start-up still in stealth, Vdio is getting a leg up to launch by merging many staff with music service Rdio, paidContent learns.
Xamarin raises $12 million to promote cross-platform mobile development
Short on good mobile developers? Xamarin announces $12 million in funding to continue building cross-platform mobile development tools to address the growing demand.
Mobile’s newest star Songza is red hot with 1.15 Million iOS downloads in 10 days
Songza launched in 2007, and put to rest a year later. In 2011, it was reincarnated as a mobile music discovery service and a mobile app. By marrying algorithms with human curation, the service wants to challenge Pandora and others in battle for music-app supremacy.
Rdio sneaks into UK and France. Will you be using it?
Without any fanfare, Rdio just launched its music streaming service in the U.K. and France — taking on major rival Spotify on its home turf for the first time. But is its offering enough to make users switch?
Physical media is dead — long live the app
Physical media is dead. It is being replaced with “apps” From music playlists to catalogs to retail stores to television — it wouldn’t surprise me if in near future everything is an app. It is a scary future for some, and yet full of opportunities.
Interview: Rdio Prepares To Take On Spotify, Deezer Et Al In Europe
Unlimited-music service Rdio concedes it will have to fight incumbents as it prepares to launch across the whole of Europe.
Why do so many digital music services fail?
Although it’s now simpler and more efficient than ever to create a compelling music destination, only a few digital music outlets today are truly successful. Merlin’s CEO Charles Caldas explains why so many services fail, and so few succeed.
Rdio relaunches with new web UI and revamped desktop apps
Music subscription service Rdio relaunched its web and desktop experience at a press event at SXSW Tuesday in an attempt to focus more on music discovery and bring a desktop-like music experience to the web. The new UI takes some hints from iTunes, Spotify and Facebook.
Finally Spotify says guten tag to German users
Spotify is claiming that its long-delayed launch in Germany has been caused by internationalization issues — an attempt to distract from the difficulties of negotiating with the country’s notoriously hard music rights collector, GEMA.
Hands on with the remastered Rdio for Android
I took a look at Rdio’s new Android client and it’s a vast improvement. The application is a full re-write, rather than an update, and better supports Android 4.0 smartphones and tablets, allowing the app to be controlled on a device’s lock screen.
The confusing, contrary arguments over music streaming
Arguments over the compensation that artists get from streaming services like Spotify and Rdio just won’t go away — because everyone has wildly different experiences. So who’s got it wrong? Perhaps the real problem is that everybody is right in their own way.
Mixberry Media brings audio ads to streaming music apps
Mixberry Media is introducing a new ad platform aimed at inserting ads into the dead space in audio streams whenever a user switches channels or changes songs. The goal is to fill in the dead space in between songs with short brand messages.
It’s confirmed: Skype founder’s new startup is Vdio
Vdio just confirmed the story we broke earlier today: The new video startup was founded by Skype cofounder Janus Friis, and the team includes veterans from Skype and Joost. Vdio hasn’t publicly launched yet, but it’s already taking swipes at Netflix and Lovefilm.
Scoop: Skype founders gunning for Netflix with Vdio
First there was Rdio, now there is Vdio: The Skype founders have stealthily been working on a new video service that seems to be gunning straight for Netflix. Vdio hasn’t publicly launched yet, but we uncovered many details about the company and the people behind it.
Mobile Lowdown 6-29-11: China iPhone; Android Phishing; Apple/LG; BT
A look at some of the big stories in mobile today:
— China Mobile/iPhone: A report alleges that China Mobile and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) have…
Bad taste in music? Here’s how to avoid sharing on Spotify
We all have our secret Lady Gaga songs tucked away in our playlist or the 80s’ Monster Ballads that are loved rather than laughed at, so now as Spotify comes to the U.S., here’s how to avoid sharing the skeletons in your musical closet.
Updated: iCloud: Just A Lot Of Hot Air When It Comes To Streaming?
In the stream of announcements made today at the WWDC, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) may have dismantled more than one business model in its wake. “Sh*…
Spotify Shift Signals the End for Ad-Supported Music
Europe’s hottest on-demand music service, Spotify, is narrowing its free offering as it tries to boost subscription numbers and prepare for an American launch. Will it finally end the ongoing delusion that advertising can ever make enough to support streaming music services?
Rdio Gives Music Lovers More Options on Roku
Music subscription service Rdio, which exited beta last summer, has added a new platform for its on demand cloud-based library: the Roku. This adds Rdio to the list of streaming services discovering the unexpected popularity of music channels on the set-top box.
Interview: Rdio CEO Says Subs Will Boom (But First, That Apple Problem)
In the unlimited music subscription race, Drew Larner reckons his pay-for service has a much better shot at surviving than certain other riv…
Skype Founders’ Music Venture Rdio Gets Funded By Mangrove Capital
The mobile music space has just picked up a bit more capital: Rdio, music discovery and sharing startup, has raised financing from Mangrove…
Spotify: We Are Not for Sale
The latest rumor to hit says Apple might be interested in buying Spotify, a hot music startup based in Sweden. There’s news that Google almost bought them for $1 billion last year. What does the company say to all that? It’s not for sale.
Rdio Now Broadcasting to Everyone: Here's How it Stacks Up
After two months in invite-only beta, streaming music service Rdio will enter general availability Tuesday morning, offering unlimited access to a library of seven million songs for a flat fee of $5 for desktop service and $10 to add a mobile component.
MOG Finally Goes Mobile With New iPhone, Android Apps
Expected soon after the launch of its music subscription service last fall, MOG’s iPhone and Android mobile apps will allow access to a library of more than 8 million songs for a monthly fee of about $10. That represents an increasingly attractive standalone offering for handset makers.
Rdio's Silence Ends As Skype Founders Launch Music Subscription Service
The newest music subscription service to launch is Rdio, the creation of Skype and Kazaa founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. Like some of its newly launched peers, it’s a well-designed service that’s satisfying to curious listeners, but how many people will pay for it?
Rdio Makes Its Debut, Privately, On the Apple App Store…
Rdio, the much hyped stealth music service from the founders of Kazaa and Skype, has chosen the iPhone as its launchpad, a good a place as a…
Still Quiet Before Launch, Rdio Introduces iPhone App
Rdio, the startup created by Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, hasn’t yet launched its music subscription service. But the company quietly introduced its iPhone app in the last day, giving beta testers early access.
