SAN FRANCISCO--BUSINESS WIRE--Rdio, pronounced r-dee-o, the new social music service founded by Janus Friis with Niklas Zennström and Atomico, a leading technology investment group, today unveiled its plans to change the way people access, discover and pay for music. Designed as a highly social experience, Rdio www.rdio.com improves the discovery and sharing of music and the way music can be accessed through a Web browser and on smartphones. Rdio will offer unlimited, on-demand access to five million songs for a monthly subscription allowing users to listen to as many songs as they want, anytime and anywhere. Rdio’s invitation-only paid preview program starts today.

“Many digital music services have tried to address specific challenges, but no one has managed to elegantly integrate discovery and a high-quality music streaming experience, under one roof”

“Many digital music services have tried to address specific challenges, but no one has managed to elegantly integrate discovery and a high-quality music streaming experience, under one roof,” said Janus Friis. “We think people are ready for the next evolution in music. Rdio gives you unlimited access to all the music, anytime, for the equivalent price of one album download per month.”

Rdio takes the manual effort out of discovering new music and building a digital collection by connecting you to other people and their music. This constant stream of new, relevant music is accessible via any Web browser or your phone, and unlike other music services, there is always new music to try every time you launch Rdio.

“We see a big opportunity to fix the mobile music experience,” said Drew Larner, CEO, Rdio. “People want the music on their desktop and mobile to be connected without having to pull out a cable. That’s what we’ve built – a seamless way to access your music no matter where you are.”

Rdio offers applications for BlackBerry and iPhone with Android to come. Rdio’s apps know what album or playlist you were listening to on your desktop when you connect via your mobile, and they show you what your friends are listening to. You can also sync music to your phone to enjoy when you’re offline.

Rdio offers music from the world’s largest music labels: EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, along with a number of the leading indie aggregators of digital music. Rdio offers many different ways to easily discover music including personalized recommendations for new music based on your specific tastes and listening behavior, and on-demand artist-based radio stations for those who prefer to stumble upon new, related music. A matching tool allows you to replicate your iTunes or Windows Media Player libraries by scanning your account and immediately adding it to your Rdio collection. Another benefit of Rdio’s service is that users can collaborate on shared playlists. Links and information about favorite songs can be shared with friends on Facebook and Twitter or directly in email.

“The music industry’s transition to online distribution has been dominated by à la carte sales,” said Mike McGuire, vice president, research, Gartner’s Media Industry Advisory Services. “But, there’s a big opportunity for companies to create paid music services that are based in the cloud – especially as more and more consumers own smartphones allowing them to access their entire online music library via phone. The industry needs to continue to invest in these models to expand the market for revenue-generating opportunities and provide compelling alternatives to free content.”

Based in San Francisco, Rdio is led by CEO Drew Larner and COO Carter Adamson. Rdio’s product team includes Malthe Sigurdsson, who is responsible for Rdio’s user experience and design, and Todd Berman, who leads engineering.

Starting today, Rdio’s small group of existing beta testers will be given a handful of invitations to share with friends and family. Rdio will also start providing paid access to the preview program to those who have requested an invitation through its website. Web and mobile access including syncing music will cost subscribers $9.99 per month, and Web-only access will cost $4.99 per month. Rdio is launching its preview program in the US, and expects to launch to the general public later this year.

About Rdio:

Rdio brings music alive with its social music service where you can discover music through friends and tastemakers. Rdio takes the work out of the deciding what to play next and connects the music in your Web browser with your mobile phone. You can play as many songs you want, anytime, anywhere. Rdio was founded by Janus Friis with Niklas Zennström and Atomico, a leading technology investment group.

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