Rdio - Social Music

This week I was invited to take part in the beta of Rdio, a new online music service from the creators of Skype. Unfortunately the site is currently US only so I’ll have to hold out for a while.

For us Europeans the site will appear a lot like Spotify, an unlimited online streaming service we’ve had access to for over a year. What Rdio trys to add to the mix is a wider integration of social features to help users share and discover new content. Spotify has a range of shared playlist options but the Skype team are adding a range of ways of exploring musical tastes and seeing what your friends are playing.

Microsoft has tried to play on the social aspect of music through it’s Zune mp3 player but options to share and lend songs direct from the device have failed to capture the public’s imagination.

Whilst iTunes has the beginnings of social interaction, Apple’s trump card may well be its recent acquisition of online music site LaLa - rumours of an online streaming service have persisted since and should it come its competitors will need to innovate fast to stay ahead!