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Business News Digital Media
Rdio brings in radio, as Mixcloud considers live programmes
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 12 August 2015
With everyone in the streaming music game busy adding content that isn’t, you know, just boring old music, Rdio has announced it will be pulling 500 American radio stations into the mix for users Stateside.
And while those will be mainly music-orientated stations, they bring more traditional radio style content onto the platform, and there’ll be some super sporty stuff on offer through the new radio channels too. Users listening to radio through the Rdio app will be able to like tracks and spin off playlists based on the shows they listen to.
The new venture extends the existing alliance between Rdio and America’s second biggest AM/FM radio station operator Cumulus Media. And while this is a US-only initiative for now, the streaming music firm says it hopes to add something similar in other territories down the line. Though likely pulling in existing radio services, as with the Cumulus tie up, rather than going the Apple route of making its own radio station.
Says Rdio boss man bloke Anthony Bay: “We are committed to providing Rdio customers around the world with easy access to the audio content they want to hear through innovative features that enhance listening. Broadcast radio brands and talent continue to be the dominant tastemakers in music, so integrating live broadcast radio into Rdio’s critically acclaimed customer experience is an exciting development that we are thrilled to introduce”.
Elsewhere in ‘I thought we were in the on-demand age what’s all this live content nonsense?’ news, Mixcloud has told Music Ally it is also considering a move into live streams. Mixcloud, of course, allows users to upload mixes, radio shows, podcasts and such like, with any music that features covered by the digital firm’s music licenses. Single track uploads aren’t allowed, making Mixcloud more like traditional radio than, say, SoundCloud. But on-demand radio.
Yet, says Mixcloud CEO Nikhil Shah to Music Ally: “You can’t forget that radio is also live: people thrive on being part of the experience and part of the moment. [So live streams is] something we think about a lot, and it’s on our roadmap: we do eventually want to have some features around live radio”.
