If you are a music lover, like us, you would probably have heard of Rdio, the (best) music streaming service has recently just moved to freemium model. That means like Spotify, Rdio now goes free with ads thrown in with their latest update.
Rdio has the best, if not one of the top music selections up there, together with great app design. However, you need to pay. With the update, new users, and those on a budget will find Rdio an option, while netting Rdio a new set of subscribers while benefiting from money generated from ads.
The new update also makes it easier to find stations. The Home feed section will show you the songs your friends are listening to in real-time, very much like Spotify, while also showing trending albums. Albums from artists you like but have not heard, will also be shown.
Free users will see an almost near total emphasis on Rdio’s curated, ad-supported radio stations, which they can listen to without paying RM9.90 per month for desktop use, or RM14.90 per month for use on smartphones or tablets via the newly revised Rdio app. They can even get back to their last listened to song with Rdio’s new ‘Keep Listening’ feature. These ad-supported radio stations, includes 60 programmed by human creators, while users will see fewer requests to upgrade to premium.
While Rdio has been a great service, they have had trouble competing with the likes of Spotify (with 40 million users), Pandora (who had 76.4 million users) and of course, the free Youtube. Would this redesign and new changes in price improve their sales? With Spotify ascendant, Google plans to monetise Youtube and Beats Music absorbed into Apple, as part of Apple’s plan to enter the on-demand music streaming scene, we hope that Rdio will improve their game.