Looking for an option to stream music for free with no ads?
As of today Rdio is offering up their music library of more than 12 million songs for users in the US and Canada to access for free using either the web or a desktop program. They do offer mobile access for paying customers including an app for the Windows Phone 7 platform which I think is terrific to see.
The sign up process was quick and easy and just requires either your Facebook account or an email address to get started. No credit card or any other payment info is needed to get started.
"We’re proud to be the only service in the US to offer everyone the opportunity to listen to millions of songs for free, without the distraction of a single ad," said Drew Larner, CEO of Rdio. "With free access to Rdio, now everyone has the freedom to discover what our fans already know – we’re the best service for listening to and discovering music."
Some of the features you can take advantage of under this free offer are:
- Stream full songs on-demand
- See and hear what your friends and other influencers are listening to in real-time
- Share on Twitter and Facebook
- Create custom and collaborative playlists
- Build a personalized profile and digital music collection
- Get music recommendations based on your tastes
- Listen to artist and label radio stations
They do offer paid subscription plans including a family plan:
- Rdio Web, $4.99 per month: unlimited access to millions of songs from a browser or desktop
- Rdio Unlimited, $9.99 per month: unlimited web streaming and unlimited mobile streaming on smartphones, iPad, Sonos and Roku, as well as wireless synching to listen offline
- Unlimited Family: 2 Unlimited subscriptions for $17.99 per month or 3 Unlimited subscriptions for $22.99 per month
You keep track of how much free listening you have left using a meter at the top of the Rdio Dashboard (pictured below):
I have listened to about 7 songs so far and the meter was completely full when I started. I have reached out to @Rdio on Twitter to clarify just how much free listening is available under this offer. Once they reply I will update this post.
Here is what the Rdio Dashboard looks like:
So if your looking to get some ad free music at your computer this might not be a bad deal at all. Just for reference Rdio was launched last August by Janus Friis who was one of the creators of Skype.
