14 DAY TRIAL // The online music environment has gotten a lot more interesting lately with a lot of launches and upcoming products. But, for all the enthusiasm, the music-streaming market may already be getting too crowded considering very few are making real money from this. One of the latest contenders, but one that comes with a very high-quality pedigree, Rdio is getting closer to being launched and the first leaked screenshots of the service are beginning to pop up.
The Read Write Web blog has managed to get its hands on a couple of screenshots of the upcoming BlackBerry app for the service. The app looks good enough, though the images don't really reveal anything too unexpected. The app is already in testing with a limited set of users and it seems to have all of the usual things like playlists, collections, a “heavy rotation” section and a community dashboard.
Rdio is set to cover all fronts with a website for streaming music, a desktop client and mobile apps for iPhone and BlackBerry devices. An Android app is also in the works, no surprise now that the Google mobile OS is taking off. The service will offer unlimited music streaming, but will be strictly subscription-based. The company hasn't given any details on pricing and subscription tiers, but music downloads will also be available for 99 cents per song and $10 per album.
The company is founded by serial entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, creators of Kazaa, Skype and the now-defunct Joost. It apparently also managed to assemble a great team of engineers to put together the product. There has been a flood of this type of companies recently and, with Spotify coming to the US shortly, Rdio will be facing some pretty stiff competition. Still, this looks like a turning point for music-streaming services and the planets seem to be aligned to create a runaway success on the market. But for one to succeed, ten others must fail. It remains to be seen in which group the new service will fall.
