Slacker lures 6 million new listeners, makes profit on both free and paid users

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Slacker lures 6 million new listeners, bucks industry with profit on free and paid users" data-src-height="399" data-src-width="619" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/slacker-redesign-mobile.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">When Slacker launched its big software overhaul in February, many were skeptical that a refresh could bring it back to prominence. Apparently, all that doubt was misguided: Slacker says it's racked up 6 million new listeners in the past three months, 3.5 million of which are on mobile. They're more involved, too -- there are 100,000 new paying customers, iOS installs have tripled and members of all kinds tune in for an average of 25 percent longer. And did we mention that Slacker may even benefit from the rush? Where some peers face a constant fight to stay above water without enough premium customers, Slacker says both its ad-supported free radio and paid on-demand service are profitable. While there's no guarantee the company will hold on to those bedazzled new users, it's good to see renewed competition in a field with fewer and fewer participants.</div><div class="pr_box open" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><div class="pr_box_button">Hide Press Release</div><div class="pr_text"><em><strong>GROWING FAST; SLACKER ADDS MORE THAN SIX MILLION NEW LISTENERS SINCE FEBRUARY RELAUNCH</strong><br /><br />Mobile Explodes, Listening Time Up 25 Percent – Slacker is Gross Margin Profitable on EVERY User, Free or Paid<br /><br />SAN DIEGO, May 9, 2013 – Slacker, the world's most complete music service, revealed its latest audience growth figures, pointing to the success of the company's relaunch on February 13th of this year. The complete redesign of the company's digital music service gives more and more listeners access to millions of songs and hundreds of expert-crafted stations for free. On the web, tablets, smartphones, and consumer electronics devices – and in the car.<br /><br />Since mid-February, new users are coming, they're listening longer, and they're subscribing:<br />· More than six million new listeners joined, with 3.5 million on mobile<br />· People have increased average listening time by 25 percent<br />· Slacker is now installed on more than three times as many iOS devices<br />· Rocking the charts, Slacker is consistently ranked among the top three grossing apps on the App Store Top Grossing Chart<br />· More than 100,000 new paid subscribers have joined<br /><br />"We're thrilled with the results of our relaunch; since mid-February millions of new people are tuning into Slacker, they're spending more time listening, and our paid subscriber base is growing fast," said Jim Cady, CEO of Slacker. "And with our proven business model, Slacker is the only digital music service that is gross margin positive on every listener – whether they're ad-supported or a paid subscriber."<br /><br />Slacker is the most complete music service on Earth, offering streaming radio and on-demand access to a massive music library of more than 13 million songs, with new tracks added daily. A music guide and fine-tuning tools allow listeners to easily discover new music or add news, sports and talk content from ABC and ESPN. Slacker's team of expert music curators also constantly update Slacker's more than 200 genre and specialty stations so the music is always new, fresh and surprising.<br /><br />Slacker is the only digital music service that has billing and distribution deals with every major North American wireless provider, including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular. In addition, Slacker is available in vehicles produced by major automotive manufacturers including Ford, GM, Chrysler Group, Acura, Honda, Scion, Subaru and Tesla.<br /><br />Slacker launched its digital music service in 2010. The company has doubled its business every year. Slacker has also recently expanded its operations, opening offices in Palo Alto, CA and New York City.</em><br /> </div></div></div>

Slacker lures 6 million new listeners, makes profit on both free and paid users

When Slacker launched its big software overhaul in February, many were skeptical that a refresh could bring it back to prominence. Apparen...

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7digital to drive the Galaxy S 4's Music Hub, ship on 100 million phones in 2013

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="7digital to drive the Galaxy S 4's Music Hub, ship on 100 million phones this year" data-src-height="340" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/samsung-galaxy-s-4-angle.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">If you've shopped at Samsung's Music Hub, there's a good chance that you've used 7digital's music services at some point: it's been involved in supplying songs for the past two generations of Galaxy flagships. That influence is carrying on to the Galaxy S 4, where 7digital will handle the Music Hub's storefront and purchased track streaming. While the deal doesn't represent a radical break for either side, it does give Samsung some odd bedfellows this time around -- 7digital is also operating music stores for BlackBerry 10 and Ubuntu One, and its apps have regularly surfaced on HTC devices and various Windows Phone models. Ultimately, 7digital expects its music shopping backbone to reside on more than 100 million smartphones before 2013 is over and done. That's no mean feat when the limelight often falls on music service rivals that insist on putting their names front and center, such as Amazon, Apple or Spotify.</div><div class="open" dir="ltr" id="pr_box" style="text-align: left;"> <div id="pr_box_button">Hide Press Release</div><div id="pr_text"> <em><strong>7digital to be pre-installed on 100 million smartphones shipping in 2013 – including Galaxy S4</strong><br /> <br /> · 7digital selected for a third time as music partner for Samsung's flagship smartphone<br /> · Music streaming sees significant growth, increasing tenfold in the past 12 months.</em><br /> <em>London, UK, 15 March 2013 – 7digital, the leading open digital music platform, today announces the company's technology is powering Samsung's MusicHub app, which comes pre-installed on all Galaxy S4 smartphones.</em><br /> <em>This latest partnership means over 100 million smartphone devices will ship with 7digital-powered music apps installed during 2013, including the Galaxy S4, BlackBerry 10, HTC and Windows Phone handsets. 7digital has been selected for a third time as the music partner for Samsung's flagship smartphone, following similar partnerships at launch of the Galaxy S3 and S2 phones.</em><br /> <em>The MusicHub app allows Galaxy S4 users to browse, preview and purchase music from 7digital's 23 million strong track catalogue. Purchased music is stored in the cloud and can be automatically synced with multiple devices, and stored locally for offline listening. The app also allows users to stream 7digital's full catalogue direct to their smartphone, and access radio stations based on favourite artists.</em><br /> <em>Music streaming has seen significant growth during 2013. 7digitial has seen a tenfold increase in tracks streamed from the 7digital API in the past year, with the figure set to rise to hundreds of millions of streams by the end of 2013. The quality of music streaming has been improved through the use of Dolby Pulse technology, which reduces consumer and carrier bandwidth usage and results in faster music access on all data plans.</em><br /> <em>"We're well known for delivering a high-quality digital music download experience globally, in partnership with many leading companies including Samsung" comments Ben Drury, CEO at 7digital. "High growth of the mobile sector led us to expand our open music platform and technology, and we're now powering a diverse range of mobile digital music services - including radio and on-demand subscription streaming. We're witnessing huge growth across the international markets we're operating in, in both streaming and downloading of legal music."</em><br /> <em>MusicHub is a free app pre-installed on a range of Samsung devices, including the Galaxy S4. A monthly subscription is required to access streaming services.</em><br /> </div></div></div>

7digital to drive the Galaxy S 4's Music Hub, ship on 100 million phones in 2013

  If you've shopped at Samsung's Music Hub, there's a good chance that you've used 7digital's music services at some po...

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Rdio on iPhone now shows which friends are listening, web streaming hits seven countries

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="Rdio on iPhone now shows which friends are listening, supersizes album art" data-src-height="340" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/rdio-ios-now-playing.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Listen enough to Rdio on the desktop and you'll know your friends' taste in music when they're fellow subscribers. As of a fresh update to the iOS app, you'll also appreciate any musical kinship while on the road. iPhone users receive an overhauled playback view that shows just which friends have listened to that favorite album or playlist. They'll also have a more pleasing view in mid-play that blows up the album art and downplays the interface. There's no word on similar treatments for the Android app, but the odds have increased that you'll at least have the web fallback for social listening: Rdio has quietly added web streaming for Austria, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Mexico, bringing desktop access to a total of 24 countries.</div><div dir="ltr" id="pr_box_button" style="text-align: left;">Hide Press Release</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <strong>Rdio Expands to Seven New Markets, Furthering Digital Music Service's Bold Global Growth</strong></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Rdio Launches in Mexico, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and Austria and Extends Offering in Brazil, with Free Music Streaming For Up To Six Months, No Credit Card Required</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Rdio (http://www.rdio.com), the digital music service founded by Janus Friis, one of the creators of Skype, has expanded into seven new territories.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Now, music fans in Mexico, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and Austria can sign up and activate free streaming at rdio.com, without entering a credit card, then dive right into Rdio's library of over 18 million songs. With up to six months of ad-free web streaming available upon sign-up, music lovers in these markets can organically discover a great number of artists and bands.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> In addition, Rdio has announced that the extended free web offer is now available to Brazil - currently the streaming service's third biggest market and its fastest growing territory in terms new users. By extending the free web offer in this vibrant market, Rdio is looking to reward Brazil's passion for a quality music discovery experience and encourage new users to try the service.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> "Rdio is the best product on the market for discovering music," says Drew Larner, CEO of Rdio, "and we will continue to improve that discovery experience by developing smarter tools to surface artists and songs our users love. By opening the social circle to seven new international markets, we're making Rdio an increasingly global way to play, discover, and share music."</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Rdio's latest expansion will allow listeners from the seven new markets to:</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Choose from over 18 million songs, without ads<br /> Listen free on the web for up to six months, depending on how many songs they stream<br /> See and hear what their favorite artists are listening to<br /> Discover new music by following friends and tastemakers<br /> Create, curate, and collaborate on playlists<br /> Share their life soundtrack in real time on Facebook and Twitter</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> A meter at the top of user profile pages shows users how much free music they have remaining each month. Users can also try Rdio for free on a 14-day mobile trial.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> It's easy to upgrade to one of Rdio's flexible subscription plans for unlimited streams and access to Rdio's acclaimed mobile apps. Plan options include:</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Rdio Web: £4.99 a month. Unlimited Web streaming<br /> Rdio Unlimited: £9.99 a month. Unlimited Web and mobile streaming, as well as wireless syncing to listen offline</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Music fans can start listening free at rdio.com.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Notes to Editors</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Rdio is the ground-breaking digital music service that is reinventing the way people discover, listen to, and share music. With on-demand access to over 18 million songs, Rdio connects people with music and makes it easy to search for and instantly play any song, album, artist, or playlist without ever hearing a single ad. Discover what friends, people with similar tastes, recording artists, and more are listening to in real time and share across Twitter and Facebook. Build a digital music collection that's available everywhere - on the web, in-home or in-car, on tablets or mobile phones, and even offline.</div></div>

Rdio on iPhone now shows which friends are listening, web streaming hits seven countries

  Listen enough to Rdio on the desktop and you'll know your friends' taste in music when they're fellow subscribers. As of a f...

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Sonos app gets universal favorites, Android widget and iPhone 5 tweaks

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><hr dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" /> <div class="copy post-body" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sonos app gets universal favories, widget on Android and iPhone 5 tweaks " data-src-height="301" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/sonos-sub-620.jpg" /></div>Ask a Sonos listener about flaws in the Controller app and you'll often hear about three sticking points: favorites buried in separate sections, the absence of an official Android widget and an iOS version that still isn't optimized for the iPhone 5. As of Tuesday, the company is cleaning house by curing all three hiccups at once. A new software update puts a source-independent Sonos Favorites section at the top of the menu system; Android users now have a playback widget to quickly skip tracks, and the iPhone app finally takes advantage of those 176 extra lines on the screen. All the official Controller releases should see their fixes appear at relevant app stores soon, if not by the time you read this.<br /> </div></div>

Sonos app gets universal favorites, Android widget and iPhone 5 tweaks

Ask a Sonos listener about flaws in the Controller app and you'll often hear about three sticking...

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Sony upgrades Music Unlimited to 320Kbps streaming on Android, PS3 and the web

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><hr dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" /> <div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony Music Unlimited on multiple devices" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/07/musicunlimited.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Higher quality audio is a staple of the experience for a growing number of streaming music services, most notably Spotify. Sony won't let itself become the exception to the rule: Music Unlimited now has an option for a much more detailed 320Kbps bitrate. The quality upgrade is staggered and is initially active on Android devices, the PlayStation 3 and the web player, while desktops, iOS, the PlayStation Vita and home theater gear will get improved tunes later on in the year. Music Unlimited won't appease those who want a consistent experience in the near term, then -- still, it might be enough for listeners whose Xperia serves as a primary jukebox.</div></div>

Sony upgrades Music Unlimited to 320Kbps streaming on Android, PS3 and the web

Higher quality audio is a staple of the experience for a growing number of streaming music services,...

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Nokia intros Music+ subscription service with unlimited downloads, web listening

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><hr /> <div class="copy post-body"> <div class="image-container" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="Nokia Music on a Lumia 800" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/11/nokia-lumia-800-music.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Most of the bigger streaming music services have both a free tier for casual listeners and a paid level for truly committed music fans. Nokia doesn't want to be the exception to the rule. It's launching Nokia Music+, a paid version of its existing platform. Paying <span>€4</span> per month <span>(</span>$4 in the US) gives perks that you'd normally expect from a more expensive alternative like Spotify or Slacker's premium tier: the upgrade ratchets up the audio quality, adds lyrics, allows unlimited skips in Mix Radio and enables as many downloads for offline play as the phone can hold. Aren't you suddenly glad that you picked up a 32GB Lumia 920? Not that you'll always need it to tune in -- Music+ adds web streaming for anything with a suitably capable browser. Nokia hasn't said just which countries beyond the US will get the more advanced service, but it should make a formal debut within the next few weeks.</div></div></div>

Nokia intros Music+ subscription service with unlimited downloads, web listening

Most of the bigger streaming music services have both a free tier for casual listeners and a paid lev...

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