rdio

Coldplay latest act to freeze out streaming services (scoop)

Coldplay, one of the world's biggest music acts, has declined to offer songs from the band's new album "Mylo Xyloto," to streaming services such as Spotify, Rdio and Rhapsody, multiple sources told CNET.

EMI, the band's record label, acknowledged that Coldplay, known for such songs as "Yellow" and "Clocks," will not distribute through streaming services for "Mylo Xyloto," but did not detail the reasons for the decision. "We always work with our artists and management on a case by case basis to deliver the best outcome for each … Read more

Skype co-founder Friis working on Netflix rival

A new service called Vdio will join the growing number of companies with sights set on Netflix's streaming service, the company confirmed to CNET today. And the person behind the company is none other than Skype and Kazaa co-founder Janus Friis.

In a statement to CNET today, Vdio Senior Vice President of Operations Scott Barrow, confirmed that Vdio will "let you instantly watch the best in TV and movies, right now." The spokesman said that the service is "currently in closed beta" and will initially only be available in the U.K. The service's … Read more

Rdio takes on Spotify with freer free option

Subscription music services aren't all the same, but they're similar enough that it's becoming increasingly important for companies to figure out a way to entice users into trying out a limited version of their service so they can hook them on it and convert them into paying customers. This freemium model has worked well for Spotify and now Rdio is upping the ante with a free streaming offer for PCs that's also ad-free.

We had to read the fine print to figure out just how free this offer is, but here's the basic deal: you … Read more

Facebook adding Spotify, MOG, Rdio, Rhapsody, and more?

We may finally have the answer to the great mystery of who Facebook will partner with to bring a music service to its massive social network: Everyone.

Dutch entrepreneur and developer Yvo Schaap took a look at the HTML for all the major music services and found that several had references in meta tags to what appears to be a custom Facebook format.

Specifically, Schaap found Spotify, MOG, Rhapsody, Soundcloud, Rdio, Deezer (France), and VEVO all seem to be tagging their songs to be Facebook-compatible.

Among the notable services absent from the list are Pandora and Napster. Pandora has been … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1544: Of lost iPhones and shrimp ceviche (Podcast)

Apple, evidently, has a lot of employees with drinking problems, and it keeps letting those employees take iPhone prototypes out of the building. Really? Wow, dudes. Also, T-Mobile tries to pump up its employees over the merger situation, you can finally legally play Doom in Germany, tablet makers try everything but the easy solution, and China is going to kill us all. Or give us $99 tablets, hard to say. And Buzz Out Loud is getting out of the daily deals business.

Rdio hits Windows

Rdio, the popular on-demand music-streaming service with apps already available on most major platforms (Download: Mac | iPhone | Android), has just invaded Windows desktops. Now, desktop listeners can access their Rdio accounts without having to fire up a browser or log in. The new native app offers all of Rdio's basic listening and social discovery features, plus a couple of nice conveniences that you're sure to appreciate.

First, the new app can be controlled via media keys on a keyboard. These days, a lot of Windows peripherals come outfitted with Play, Pause, and Skip Track keys, and the app … Read more

Rdio releases mobile API for iOS, Android

Record labels have aggressively sued companies that fail to properly license songs, creating a major headache for entrepreneurs trying to build digital music companies. But Rdio, a licensed music-streaming service that competes with Rhapsody, is now offering its API for free to developers, hoping to encourage more innovation around music apps.

Todd Berman, vice president of engineering at Rdio, told CNET that the more apps that are built around the Rdio music platform, the more subscribers it will gain. The social-music service was launched by the founders of Skype, Joost, and Kazaa. It released its mobile API for iOS and … Read more

Rdio offering direct carrier billing through Verizon

Rdio, the subscription-based social music service, today announced the addition of its Rdio app to the Verizon V Cast Apps storefront. Available only to customers with select Android devices, the app is one of the first in Verizon's app store to offer subscriptions via direct carrier billing.

While the service remains the same, the new option to lump your monthly subscription fee in with your Verizon Wireless bill is sure to entice at least a handful of new subscribers. "Our new relationship with Verizon Wireless makes the Rdio social music experience available to millions of mobile subscribers and … Read more

Rdio for iPhone gets a new look

Rdio, from the makers of Skype (Windows/Mac/iPhone), is a subscription-based music service offering more than 5 million songs as well as added social components that let you connect with friends to share and discover new music. Today, the service announced an updated version of its iPhone app that features an entirely redesigned interface and new options for song recommendations, popular music charts, and new releases. It also offers improved search tools and better syncing controls than previous versions.

Get started by downloading the free app, then sign up at the Rdio Web site for a 30-day free trial. … Read more

Twitter brings more media, music to Web client

Twitter announced five new content partners on Monday that bring more multimedia and video content into its recently overhauled Web site, furthering the company's march away from simply coughing up streams of 140-character messages. The latest arrivals on Twitter.com are videos from syndication platform Blip.tv, hipster-filtered photos from trendy iPhone app Instagram, full-length streaming songs from Rdio, presentations from Slideshare, and works from artist community site Dipdive.

So what does this mean? When you click on a link in a tweet that you see in your stream on Twitter.com, if it comes from one of Twitter'… Read more