Jay-Z’s TIDAL made big, messy waves the other month when it launched a $23.99-a-month streaming service. The accepted monthly rate for this kind of streaming service has normalised around $10 — which is why Rdio’s is hoping to undercut the competition with a new US$4 tier.
AU Editor’s Note: Hey guys, sorry — the price of Rdio Select is $5.99 monthly in Australia.
For that paltry amount of money, Rdio Select will let you listen to any of its radio stations, ad-free and with unlimited skips. That’s different from the full-fat, $10 a month Rdio, which works exactly like Spotify (or any other music-streaming service): you get full control over what music you want to listen to, building playlists and the like. Select also has one secret weapon: you can download 25 songs offline at any one time, to enjoy on the subway or in your fallout bunker.
According to BuzzFeed, Rdio is hoping that the price will be a sweet spot for users who are sick of ads, but don’t have $10 a month to spend on music. There’s certainly a lot of those out there: Spotify has around 15 million paid subscribers, but a further 45 million listen for free on the limited, ad-supported model. If Rdio can get even a handful of those users to jump ship to its economy-priced platform, it might be onto a winner.
Select is available today in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India and South Africa. You can use Rdio’s website, or the plethora of mobile apps, to sign up.