AppleInsider StaffIn a bid to rocket up the streaming music service charts before Apple releases its own branded offering, industry upstart Rdio on Thursday launched a low-cost subscription tier starting at only $3.99 a month, undercutting much of the competition.
Called Rdio Select, the special tier targets consumers who are interested in signing on to streaming music service, but are loathe to pay high monthly fees for special extra features that could go unused. As reported by BuzzFeed, the $3.99-per-month product includes ad-free streaming at 320 kbps, unlimited track skipping and daily download access to 25 songs from Rdio's catalog.
Rdio CEO Anthony Bay likened his company's mid-tier offering to air travel, saying, "We've all been flying airplanes that had business class only. There is no coach."
By paring down features like unlimited downloads and on-demand streaming, Rdio is able to price its product significantly below the competition. For example, streaming music giant Spotify charges an industry standard $9.99 per month, as does Apple's Beats Music. It should be noted, however, that Spotify also markets a free ad-supported on-demand option that has proven to be quite popular.
Apple is widely expected to introduce its own streaming service in the near future. Thought to be a rebranded and retooled Beats Music, Apple's as yet unannounced product could feature exclusives and potentially lower monthly fees, though negotiations are still fluid. Rumors on Wednesday said a social networking element will also be added.
Rdio's stripped-down Select service debuted on iOS and Android on Thursday with initial availability in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.
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[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/186256/rdio-launches-low-cost-streaming-music-tier-with-3-99-monthly-fee-25-daily-downloads#post_2723254"] Called Rdio Select, the special tier targets consumers who are interested in signing on to streaming music service, [B]but are loathe to pay high monthly fees for special extra features[/B] that could go unused. [/quote] $4/month is certainly cheaper than $10/month... but those "special extra features" are exactly what you pay the higher price for. Rdio Select is a "radio" service with some downloading.... while Rdio Unlimited and Spotify are true "on demand" services with unlimited downloading. I think it's cool that Rdio is now offering a cheaper plan... but it's really a different type of service compared to other full-featured services. Yes... you're paying less... but you're also getting less.
has anyone used the service? how's their catalogue? app usability? currently a beats subscriber. paid $100 for the yr. not quite as good as spotify but cheaper.
I have used the service for 3+ years and feel their catalog is excellent. Probably equivalent to Spotify from what I can tell--there will always some differences at any given time because of royalty agreements with labels, etc. One can always find something great and have learned about so many new artists as well.
The app has been steadily increasing in functionality over the years, but is quick to get around in and has commonly used functions implemented smartly. Not sure what else they could add to make it a better experience. Great to be able to download songs and use when connectivity not available (e.g., air travel).
The problem with most of these services is that your favorite artists or album may become unavailable due to a lapsed contract. It's occasionally an issue, but typically one album will disappear and the extended version will replace it. It does cause a minor irritation in playlists pointing to the version of the album that was replaced. Still worth the price of admission.
And so goes the race to the bottom that is destroying the music industry by screwing the artis who receive mere pennies through the licensed use of their creative work. The double whammy is that now artists need to charge a small fortune for concert tickets to achieve financial success thus screwing the fans, and new acts find it much harder to survive.
[quote name="FreeRange" url="/t/186256/rdio-launches-low-cost-streaming-music-tier-with-3-99-monthly-fee-25-daily-downloads#post_2723497"]And so goes the race to the bottom that is destroying the music industry by screwing the artis who receive mere pennies through the licensed use of their creative work. The double whammy is that now artists need to charge a small fortune for concert tickets to achieve financial success thus screwing the fans, and new acts find it much harder to survive.[/quote] Counter to what some of us think it may not be the "little guys", independent musicians and songwriters, that have an issue with a streamer like Spotify. Could just be the big labels wanting to grab a bigger chunk for themselves. http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2015/03/24/indie-label-head-major-labels-screwed-napster-theyre-screw-spotify