Rdio logo. Photo courtesy of Rdio.
Contact Information [1]
Phone: (415) 763-7211
62 First Street, Suit 500
San Francisco, CA 94105
www.rdio.com
History
Rdio is an online music streaming service based in San Francisco [2]. It was founded in 2010 by Skype co-creator Janus Friis and began entirely as a subscription based music service [2]. While Rdio has been lauded for its design within the technology community, the company has experienced a slower take off the ground [2]. Rdio attempted to become a more holistic entertainment service through its launch of Vdio, a video service, in April of 2013 [2]. However the project was unsuccessful and discontinued just eight months later. Following a series of layoffs, Rdio announced on December 3rd of 2013 that Anthony Bay would be appointed as CEO [3]. Bay was previously global head of video at Amazon [3].
Key Executives [1]
Janus Friis, founder of Rdio. Photo courtesy of Forbes.com
Anthony Bay, Chief Executive Officer of Rdio. Photo courtesy of Patrick T. Fallon.
Carter Adamson, Chief Operating Officer. Photo courtesy of Lien Multimedia
Drew Larner, Vice Chairman and Strategic Advisor. Photo courtesy of fastcocreate.com
Scott Bagby, President of International. Photo courtesy of The Music Void.
Financials
On February 3rd of 2011 Rdio released it had raised $17.5 million worth of funds with a list of investors including Friis, Mangrove Capital Partners, and Skype [4]. Rdio’s biggest deal to date struck on September 16, 2013 when it announced a partnership with Cumulus Media, the second largest radio operator in the US [5]. In exchange for granting Cumulus an estimated 15% equity stake in Pulser Media, Rdio’s parent company, Cumulus will provide Rdio with programming and promotional services valued at $75 million over five years [6]. Although this deal was a trade and brought in no cash for either Rdio or Cumulus, it allowed Rdio the capability to offer a “fermium” subscription model [7]. Cumulus’ sale agents will sell commercial spots and share the ad revenue [7]. Rdio has yet to reveal its subscription numbers, however Spotifiy, its greatest rival, currently has 24 million users with 6 million paying [6].
Current News
Subscription Switch-Ups
Rdio proved it could adapt to the music streaming landscape after announcing it would offer a free subscription model for users through ad-supported stations this year [7]. It is essentially an Internet radio experience although Rdio still offers its paid subscription options, Web and Unlimited. This coincides with the hope that a freemium model will serve as a gateway for users to sign up for a paying subscription. Web allows full access to computers for $4.99 per month while Unlimited extends to all devices for $9.99 per month [8]. While Rdio has offered family plans since 2011, earlier this month the streaming service prices were lowered to $5 for each additional family member included on the plan (which levels its family plan price with Spotify) [8]. A family of two costs $14.99 per month with $5 for each additional person however if a family is bigger than five, users must pay the full monthly price of $9.99 for any additional members [8].
Taylor Swift Streaming Debacle
Taylor Swift’s music remains on Rdio despite her Spotify withdrawal. Photo courtesy of Rdio.
Taylor Swift made headlines last month when she pulled all her music from Spotify as she feels they do not fairly compensate music creators and is uncomfortable with the business model [9]. This has brought about questions for the future of music streaming with regard to whether other big name artists will follow suit in pulling their music. Bay has been speaking out in support of Swift and all artist’s choice in how their music is distributed [10]. Due to Swift’s fall out with Spotify, Rdio has been drawing attention to the fact that users still have access to her full catalog of music (with the exception of her most recent album, 1989) through both Rdio’s ad-supported Internet radio and paid subscriptions [10]. Additionally, Rdio currently has 30 million tracks in its library–10 million more than Spotify [11].
Toronto Film Festival Partnership [12]
Ellie Goulding during a Rdio sponsored performance. Photo courtesy of ET Canada.
This past September Rdio was the official music partner for the Toronto International Film Festival. Rdio had a “music hub” at the event with giveaways, listening stations, as well as live music. In fact, Rdio sponsored a free Ellie Goulding concert at Massey Hall. Attendees just needed to visit the “Rdio House” to receive tickets where they could browse through Rdio products and plug into listening stations to listen and browse through Rdio’s library of music. Bay explained the partnership with Toronto was a marketing opportunity to strengthen their presence in Canada.
Roku Launches Rdio App [13]
In August of 2014 Rdio announced plans to launch a new app on Roku. Rdio has been investing heavily in promotion, such as having a Rdio app featured on Roku’s television remote controls. With this, Rdio joins the ranks of just three other services (Netflix, Amazon, Vudu) who have been allotted a remote control button. As a result of this deal, Rdio can now be accessed through three avenues of television: Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV.
Future Plans
Audio Upgrade [14]
On October 16th Rdio announced its plans to upgrade their entire music catalog to AAC audio files, which is a higher sound quality than MP3. This ushers in a new period for Rdio where users can choose which sound quality they prefer listening to on all devices. Paying users even have the ability to decide which sound quality they want for downloaded songs during offline listening. Rdio also expects that changing from MP3 streaming to 64 AAC streaming could reduce data consumption by a third. This is also welcome news for musicians such as Grateful Dead band member Bob Weir, who worries that poor audio quality during streaming impedes upon the listening experience . Therefore Weir has granted Rdio an exclusive selection of tracks from TRI Studios to support the company’s move in raising the bar of audio quality.
Global Expansion
Rdio acquisition of 9 new territories brings its total reach to 60 countries. Photo courtesy of Rdio.
Rdio announced in May of 2014 that it would be available in nine additional countries throughout Europe and Asia, bringing its total reach to 60 countries [15]. There are five Mediterranean and Eastern European countries that Rdio will now be able to reach totaling 25 million people in Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia [15]. Asia has remained a relatively untapped market for Rdio although its services have been available in Malaysia and Hong Kong for just over a year [15]. 400 million people reside in the Asian countries Rdio is currently working toward expanding–Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore [15]. While all five of the European territories have been classified as “high income”, Singapore remains the only Asian country that is also categorized within this higher income bracket. In an effort to further push its international reach, this March Rdio acquired Indian streaming service Dhingana with plans to relaunch it later this year [15]. At the time of the purchase, Dhingana had 9 million monthly active users [16]. It was also projected that India will become the largest purchaser of smartphones after China in 2014, an estimated 92% of which will be new users [16]. These are promising statistics considering over 75% of Dhingana users access the streaming service through their mobile devices [15].
Sources
[1] Company Overview of Rdio, Inc. investing.businessweek.com Retrieved: 28 Nov 2014
[2] CEO: Rdio’s problem? Not enough people use Rdio cnet.com Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014
[3] Rdio Names Former Amazon Exec Anthony Bay Its New CEO techcrunch.com Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014
[4] Rdio secures USD 17.5 mln in financing round telecompaper.com Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014
[5] Internet Radio Business with Free Listening Update billboard.com Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014
[6] Music Service Rdio in Deal With Cumulus nytimes.com Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014
[7] Rdio to Expand Its Offerings as Cumulus Partnership Heats Up This Summer billboard.com Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014
[8] Rdio Follows Spotify, Drops Family Plan Pricing pcmag.com Retrieved: 28 Nov 2014
[9] Here’s Why Taylor Swift Pulled Her Music From Spotify time.com Retrieved: 9 Nov 2014
[10] Rdio on Taylor Swift’s Spotify block: “This is art. It’s the artist’s choice” theguardian.com Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014
[11] Spotify and Rdio square off calgaryherald.com Retrieved: 30 Nov 2014
[12] Rdio Partner With Toronto Film Festival billboard.com Retrieved: 28 Oct 2014
[13] Rdio is getting ready to launch a completely revamped Roku app gigaom.com Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014
[14] Rdio upgrades the audio quality of its entire music library venturebeat.com Retreived: 28 Nov 2014
[15] Rdio Now Playing In Nine More European & Asian Countries billboard.com Retrieved: 15 Oct 2014
[16] Smartphone explosion in 2014 will see ownership in India pass US theguardian.com Retrieved: 15 Oct 2014