Rdio Launches Social Music Streaming Service in NZ

Rdio Launches Innovative Social Music Streaming Service in New Zealand

Free seven-day trial available, offering access to over 12 million songs

SYDNEY, 20 January, 2012 – Dream of having access to any music you want, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, wherever you are in the world? Want to know what influential people in music and pop culture are listening to and recommending? Now you can. Rdio (www.rdio.com), the ground-breaking digital music service that is reinventing the way people discover, listen to, and share music, has launched in New Zealand today.

Founded by the creators of Skype, Rdio is the most, social, accessible, and interactive experience of streaming music available in New Zealand. Rdio lets users discover new music and re-discover old favourites by following friends, people with similar music tastes and key influencers such as recording artists and music bloggers.

Users from New Zealand now have instant access to a growing catalogue of more than 12 million songs as well as playlists, new releases, artist radio and customized recommendations. Rdio subscribers can listen to uninterrupted music any time, as much as they like and is the only music service available in New Zealand that is accessible via every major platform, whether online or offline. Rdio is also the only music service integrated into Sonos and will be available soon on Kobo Vox. To sign up for a free 7-day trial of Rdio, New Zealanders can simply visit www.rdio.com (1).

A testament to its commitment to amassing the best catalogue of music, Rdio is working with every major music company (EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Univeral Music Group, and Warner Music Group) as well as key local independent labels and distributors (such as Arch Hill Recordings, Flying Nun Records, Loop Recordings, Modular, Shock and more) to users from New Zealand have the largest available library of music possible.

Key Features:
• Play any song, any time, as much as you like. Over 12 million songs from major labels (EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group) as well as thousands of international and domestic independent labels (Arch Hill Recordings, Flying Nun Records, Loop Recordings, Modular, Shock and more)
• Discover new music and re-discover old favourites. Follow friends, people with similar taste in music, and influencers (such as recording artists and music bloggers) to discover new music.
• Manage and access your music – no matter where you are. Discover new songs, update playlists, and listen to your entire collection from any device.
• Listen offline. Sync music from your collection to your mobile device and listen even when you aren’t connected.
• Hear all the latest music the moment it comes out. Browse and listen to new albums and songs instantly the day they are released, including global and local independent music.
• Create and listen to collaborative playlists. Create and collaborate with others on playlists. Also, search for and subscribe to playlists created by other users.
• Let Rdio help you decide what to play next. Listen to artist radio stations to discover music by an artist or others like them. Play customized radio stations of other users’ most listened to albums and discover new music through recommendations based on the artists you like.
• Share music with friends. Rdio is integrated with Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm. Connect your profiles and easily share music with friends.
“New Zealanders have an incredibly diverse and healthy taste in music. Whether influenced by the Maori culture or a love of rock, hip hop or electro, New Zealand has it all,” said Drew Larner, Rdio CEO. “We believe New Zealanders will be extremely excited about discovering new local and international music and accessing their digital music collections through any platform they want.”

Larner added: “Rdio’s philosophy is that music is inherently social, global and everywhere you want to be which is why we are excited to bring Rdio to new countries like New Zealand.”

Pricing
New Zealanders can sign up immediately for a free seven-day trial. At any time, they can choose to upgrade to one of Rdio’s flexible subscription plans for unlimited music access and Rdio’s mobile apps. Plan options include:
Rdio Web, $8.90 per month: unlimited access to millions of songs from a browser or through its Windows and Mac desktop apps;
Rdio Unlimited, $13.90 per month: unlimited web and mobile streaming, including offline access, on iPhone and iPod Touch, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, and iPad.
Free 7-day trial for new users.

New users can sign up for the free seven-day trial at www.rdio.com and through Rdio’s mobile apps.

Useful Links
Rdio Images and Press page: http://www.rdio.com/au/press/
Rdio Blog: http://blog.rdio.com/au/
Rdio Twitter: www.twitter.com/rdio
Rdio Facebook: www.facebook.com/rdio

For more information on Rdio, please contact:
Steve Stammers, Weber Shandwick, (T) +61 2 999 44416, (M) +61 424 690 504
rdio@webershandwick.com

Notes to Editors:

About Rdio
Rdio is the ground-breaking digital music service that is reinventing the way people discover, listen to, and share music. With on-demand access to over 12 million songs, Rdio connects people with music and makes it easy to search for and instantly play any song, album, artist or playlist without ever hearing a single ad. Discover what friends, people with similar tastes, recording artists and more are listening to in real-time and share across Twitter and Facebook. Build a digital music collection that’s available everywhere - on the web, in-home or in-car, on an iPad or smartphone, and even offline.

Launched in August 2010, Rdio is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded by Janus Friis, one of the creators of Skype. Currently available in the US, Canada, Brazil. Germany, Australia, and New Zealand, Rdio is funded by Atomico, Janus Friis through his investment entities, Skype and Mangrove Capital Partners. For more information and to sign up, visit www.rdio.com.

References:
(1) New Zealanders can sign up for a free 7-day trial of Rdio by logging on to www.rdio.com, and entering their e-mail address. Rdio will then send a link to complete registration. Users can also share their Facebook account to get started with Rdio immediately.

ENDS

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