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.
Rdio goes free on the web
Rdio is now letting U.S. listeners use its music subscription service for free — on the web, anyway: The music service announced Thursday that it is allowing users to listen as much as they want on its website. Rdio is monetizing the new free offering through ads, which are sold by its new partner Cumulus. Ad-free listening still costs $10 a month. The announcement comes a day after Spotify announced that it is removing limits to free listening in all of its territories, and less than a week before Beats Music launches its service in the U.S.
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?
Rdio brings its Spotify competitor to 20 more countries
Rdio launched its music subscription service in 20 additional countries late Monday, bringing the total number of countries Rdio is available in now to 51. The new markets include 13 Latin American countries, Israel, South Africa, the Dominican Republic and a few smaller countries in Europe. The expansion could give Rdio a chance to leapfrog Spotify in some of these markets: The bigger competitor is thus far only available in 28 countries.
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 taps former Amazon exec Anthony Bay as new CEO
Rdio named Anthony Bay as its new CEO Tuesday. Bay joins the digital music subscription service from Amazon(s amzn), where he was working as Global head of Digital Video. That’s an interesting background, considering that Rdio also is operating a digital video service called Vdio — but for now, Bay seems to be concentrated on Rdio’s music business, as the company’s press release doesn’t mention Vdio with a single word. Of course, it’s not like Rdio won’t keep Bay busy: The company has been trying to catch up with Spotify by partnering with radio network Cumulus to launch free, ad-supported services. But making the numbers work hasn’t been easy for Rdio, which recently laid off a reported 35 employees.
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.
5 designers pick their 5 favorite product experiences, hear more at Roadmap
Check out some of the very best in product experience design, according to these designers. Hear more from them at Roadmap on November 5th and 6th in San Francisco.
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.