Sharing:
Our artist profiles display what artists are listening to, the music they’re sharing, the playlists they’re making. It’s about curating a collection. It’s about socially sharing that collection through email, Facebook or Twitter. It’s a unique product that allows the user to curate and not just make playlists. It’s important to acknowledge that it’s also about an album collection and having an ability to share that.
The Rdio difference:
We’re a music discovery opportunity as much as a music service. We have changed the way consumers are able to discover music and the way they’re able to share music. Rdio has been a leader in this space since the moment we launched. The founders of the company also founded Skype, so a lot of the lessons they learned during that experience have applied to this product. It’s about the ability to push music discovery in a way that the consumer benefits and is comfortable with. We have been a leader from day one on these innovations.
"Artists are using this program to have a new type of conversation with their fans."
World Party:
This is a global company. We’re live in 17 territories around the world, including Australia, the UK, Germany and France. And I anticipate a lot of growth in Europe, Asia and potentially South America soon. When you look at the concept of music discovery and open that up on a global scale, that’s exciting.
Every day, we’re seeing the results of people discovering music from regions they wouldn’t have had access to five or 10 years ago. You walk into a record store and it’s got a limited amount of shelf. That doesn’t apply in this case. It’s more about how much time you have to consume and who’s your guide.
Share Anything:
One of the exciting aspects of this program is that the sharing of music via Rdio and the artist program is not limited to the artist’s music. Whether it’s Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion and Epitaph Records talking via his artist program links about people’s favorite Ramones records or posting that he loves a specific Van Morrison record on a certain day of the week is as exciting as promoting the new Bad Religion record. Artists are using this program to have a new type of conversation with their fans and a new way to engage people.
Critical Mass:
We’re in a place now where the average consumer, as well as the music industry, understands the value proposition of streaming. It’s about how you use it intelligently and how you differentiate yourself. And via this program we’re able to offer that opportunity, both to big and small artists. There were misconceptions about the value proposition around streaming, but I think we’ve moved past that. There was a point where labels were afraid of iTunes and eMusic and look where we are now.
Follow Me:
We also have an influencer program, where we’ve got brands, athletes and celebrities. The value proposition becomes––who do I want to follow? If you don’t follow anyone on Twitter, it’s a relatively useless product. I can wake up and look at what my friend in Boston is listening to. It drives my behavior at something I might not have thought about otherwise.
Standing Behind Artists:
Artists need to get paid in order to keep making music. Rdio, as a company, is committed to that. The program we’ve launched is a testament to that. I hope to see more of that coming from the industry as a whole. And I’m proud to be at a company that sees it that way.
By Andy Kaufmann
