{"id":20795,"date":"2014-12-01T18:45:48","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T23:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/?p=20795"},"modified":"2014-12-11T14:44:14","modified_gmt":"2014-12-11T19:44:14","slug":"rdio-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/2014\/12\/01\/rdio-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Rdio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"rdio-logo\"<\/a>

Rdio logo. Photo courtesy of Rdio.<\/p><\/div>\n

Contact Information\u00a0<\/strong>[1]<\/a>
\nPhone: (415) 763-7211
\n62 First Street,\u00a0Suit 500
\nSan Francisco, CA 94105
\nwww.rdio.com<\/a><\/p>\n

History<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rdio is an online music streaming service based in San Francisco [2]<\/a>. It was founded in 2010 by Skype<\/a> co-creator Janus Friis and began\u00a0entirely as a\u00a0subscription based music service [2]<\/a>. \u00a0While Rdio has been lauded for its design within\u00a0the technology community, the company\u00a0has experienced a slower take off the ground\u00a0[2]<\/a>. Rdio attempted to become a more holistic entertainment service\u00a0through its launch of\u00a0Vdio, a video service, in April of 2013 [2]<\/a>. However the project was unsuccessful and discontinued just eight months later. Following a series of\u00a0layoffs, Rdio announced on December 3rd of 2013 that Anthony Bay would be appointed as CEO\u00a0[3]<\/a>. Bay was previously global head of video at Amazon [3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Key Executives\u00a0<\/strong>[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Janus Friis, founder of Rdio. Photo courtesy of Forbes.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Anthony Bay, Chief Executive Officer of Rdio. Photo courtesy of Patrick T. Fallon.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Carter Adamson, Chief Operating Officer. Photo courtesy of Lien Multimedia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Drew Larner, Vice Chairman and Strategic Advisor. Photo courtesy of fastcocreate.com<\/p><\/div>\n

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Scott Bagby, President of International. Photo courtesy of The Music Void.<\/p><\/div>\n

Financials<\/strong><\/p>\n

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]<\/a>.\u00a0Rdio’s biggest deal to date struck on September 16, 2013 when it\u00a0announced a partnership with Cumulus Media<\/a>, the second largest radio operator in the US [5]<\/a>. In exchange for granting\u00a0Cumulus an estimated 15% equity stake in Pulser Media, Rdio’s parent company, Cumulus will provide\u00a0Rdio with programming\u00a0and promotional services valued at $75 million over five years [6]<\/a>. Although this deal was a trade and brought in no cash for either Rdio or Cumulus, it allowed Rdio the capability to\u00a0offer a “fermium” subscription model [7]<\/a>. Cumulus’ sale agents will sell commercial spots and share the ad revenue [7]<\/a>.\u00a0Rdio\u00a0has yet to\u00a0reveal its subscription numbers, however Spotifiy<\/a>, its greatest\u00a0rival,\u00a0currently\u00a0has\u00a024 million users with 6 million paying [6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Current News<\/strong><\/p>\n

Subscription\u00a0Switch-Ups<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/a>Rdio proved it could adapt to the music streaming landscape\u00a0after announcing it would offer a free subscription model for users through ad-supported stations this year [7]<\/a>. It is essentially an Internet radio experience although Rdio still offers its paid subscription options, Web and Unlimited. This coincides with the\u00a0hope that a freemium\u00a0model will serve as a gateway for users to sign\u00a0up for a paying\u00a0subscription. Web allows full access to computers for $4.99 per month while Unlimited extends to all devices for $9.99 per month [8]<\/a>. 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\u00a0with Spotify)\u00a0[8]<\/a>. A\u00a0family of two costs\u00a0$14.99 per month with $5 for each additional\u00a0person however if a family is bigger than five, users must pay the full monthly price of $9.99 for any additional members\u00a0[8]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taylor Swift Streaming Debacle<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Taylor Swift’s music remains on Rdio despite her Spotify withdrawal. Photo courtesy of Rdio.<\/p><\/div>\n

Taylor Swift made headlines last\u00a0month when she pulled all her music from Spotify as she feels\u00a0they do not fairly compensate music\u00a0creators and is\u00a0uncomfortable with the business model [9]<\/a>. 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\u00a0Swift and all artist’s\u00a0choice in how their music is distributed [10]<\/a>. Due to Swift’s fall out with Spotify,\u00a0Rdio has been drawing attention to the fact that users\u00a0still have access to her\u00a0full catalog of music<\/a>\u00a0(with the exception of her most recent album, 1989) through both Rdio’s ad-supported Internet radio and paid subscriptions\u00a0[10]<\/a>. Additionally,\u00a0Rdio currently\u00a0has 30 million tracks in its library–10 million more than Spotify [11]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Toronto Film Festival Partnership<\/span> [12]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Ellie Goulding during\u00a0a Rdio sponsored performance. Photo courtesy of ET Canada.<\/p><\/div>\n

This past September\u00a0Rdio was the official music partner for the Toronto International Film Festival. Rdio had\u00a0a “music hub” at the event with giveaways, listening stations, as well as\u00a0live 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\u00a0Rdio’s library\u00a0of music. Bay explained the partnership with Toronto was a marketing opportunity to strengthen their presence in Canada.<\/p>\n

Roku Launches Rdio App<\/span> [13]<\/a>
\nIn August of 2014 Rdio announced plans to launch a new app on Roku. Rdio\u00a0has been investing heavily in promotion, such as having a\u00a0Rdio app featured on Roku’s television remote controls. With this, Rdio\u00a0joins the ranks of just three\u00a0other services (Netflix, Amazon, Vudu)\u00a0who have been allotted a remote control button.\u00a0As a result of this deal, Rdio can now be accessed through three avenues of television: Roku,\u00a0Chromecast, and Apple TV.<\/p>\n

Future Plans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Audio Upgrade<\/span> [14]<\/a>
\nOn October 16th Rdio announced its plans to upgrade their entire music catalog to AAC audio files, which is a higher sound quality than\u00a0MP3. This ushers in a new period for Rdio where users can choose which sound quality they prefer listening to on all devices.\u00a0Paying users even have the ability\u00a0to decide which sound quality they want for downloaded songs during offline listening.\u00a0Rdio 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 \u00a0Grateful Dead band member Bob Weir, who worries that poor\u00a0audio\u00a0quality during streaming impedes upon the listening experience . Therefore\u00a0Weir has granted Rdio an\u00a0exclusive selection of tracks\u00a0from TRI Studios to support the company’s move in\u00a0raising the bar of audio quality.<\/p>\n

Global Expansion<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rdio<\/a>

Rdio acquisition of 9 new territories brings its total reach to 60 countries. Photo courtesy of Rdio.<\/p><\/div>\n

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]<\/a>. There are five Mediterranean and Eastern European countries \u00a0that Rdio will now be able to reach\u00a0totaling 25 million people\u00a0in Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia [15]<\/a>. Asia has remained a relatively untapped market for Rdio although\u00a0its services have been available in Malaysia and Hong Kong for just over a year [15]<\/a>. 400 million people reside in the Asian countries Rdio\u00a0is currently working toward expanding–Indonesia,\u00a0the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore [15]<\/a>. While all five of the European\u00a0territories have been classified as “high income”, Singapore remains the only Asian country that is also categorized\u00a0within this higher income bracket. In an effort\u00a0to further push its international reach, this March Rdio acquired Indian streaming service Dhingana with plans to relaunch it later this year [15]<\/a>. At the time of the purchase, Dhingana had 9 million monthly active users [16]<\/a>. It was also projected that India will become the largest purchaser of\u00a0smartphones after China in 2014, an estimated 92% of which will be new users [16]<\/a>. These are promising statistics considering over 75% of Dhingana users\u00a0access the streaming service through their mobile devices [15]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] Company Overview of Rdio, Inc.<\/a> investing.businessweek.com<\/em> Retrieved: 28 \u00a0 \u00a0 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[2] \u00a0CEO: Rdio’s problem? Not enough people use Rdio <\/a>cnet.com<\/em> Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[3] Rdio Names Former Amazon Exec Anthony Bay Its New CEO <\/a>techcrunch.com\u00a0<\/em>Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[4] Rdio secures USD 17.5 mln in financing round<\/a> telecompaper.com<\/em> Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[5] Internet Radio Business with Free Listening Update<\/a> billboard.com<\/em> Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[6] Music Service Rdio in Deal With Cumulus<\/a> nytimes.com<\/em> Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[7] Rdio to Expand Its Offerings as Cumulus Partnership Heats Up This Summer <\/a>billboard.com<\/em> Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[8] Rdio Follows Spotify, Drops Family Plan Pricing<\/a> pcmag.com<\/em> Retrieved: 28 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[9] Here’s Why Taylor Swift Pulled Her Music From Spotify<\/a> time.com<\/em> Retrieved: 9 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[10] Rdio on Taylor Swift’s Spotify block: “This is art. It’s the artist’s choice” <\/a>theguardian.com<\/em> Retrieved: 13 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[11] Spotify and Rdio square off <\/a>calgaryherald.com<\/em> Retrieved: 30 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[12] Rdio Partner With Toronto Film Festival<\/a> billboard.com<\/em> Retrieved: 28 Oct 2014<\/p>\n

[13] Rdio is getting ready to launch a completely revamped Roku app<\/a> gigaom.com<\/em> Retrieved: 24 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[14] Rdio upgrades the audio quality of its entire music library<\/a> venturebeat.com<\/em> Retreived: 28 Nov 2014<\/p>\n

[15] Rdio Now Playing In Nine More European & Asian Countries<\/a> billboard.com<\/em> Retrieved: 15 Oct 2014<\/p>\n

[16] Smartphone explosion in 2014 will see ownership in India pass US <\/a>theguardian.com<\/em> Retrieved: 15 Oct 2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contact Information\u00a0[1] Phone: (415) 763-7211 62 First Street,\u00a0Suit 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\u00a0entirely as … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":395,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3062,3064],"tags":[4300,438,2419,3066,4301,4584,2379,1603,2418,1699,1402,3215,3073,2854],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20795"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20795"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24206,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20795\/revisions\/24206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}