Rdio Adds Nearly 500 Live Broadcasts

Everyone looking for an advantage in the competitive streaming space. One tactic, taken aggressively by Tidal, is exclusive content. They headlines, but are short lived and costly. Spotify and Tidal add videos. But like Apple's Beats 1, Rdio is betting that live audio will attract users.Music streamer Rdio has added live broadcast radio beginning with nearly US 500 stations. The stations which include NASH-FM and San Francisco's iconic KFOG come via Rdio stakeholder Cumulus. Additional radio stations will launch later this year in the U.S. and in a number of international markets served by Rdio.When listeners hear a song they like on a live station, they can mark the song as a favorite, share the song, start a custom station based on the song or view more music by the artist. Paying subscribers to Rdio’s $3.99 and $9.99 plans or those on a free trial can download the song for unlimited listening, add it to a custom playlist, listen to related songs from that artist or recently played songs on that station as often as they want. This combination leverages live radio’s discovery qualities while giving listeners the ability to explore newly discovered artists in more depth.“Broadcast radio brands and talent continue to be the dominant tastemakers in music," said Anthony Bay, CEO of Rdio, "so integrating live broadcast radio into Rdio’s critically acclaimed customer experience is an exciting development that we are thrilled to introduce.” “Bringing our national platform of stations to Rdio allows us to instantly create broader access for our listeners and new opportunities for advertisers to reach their target audiences,” said Lew Dickey, CEO of Cumulus.