Internationally successful music subscription service Rdio is now available in Australia. There’s now a rapidly growing number of music services for Aussies to choose from, including Zune, Songl, JB Hi-Fi NOW and now Rdio. So lets take a look at how it stacks up.
To begin the free trial period only lasts 7 days instead of 30 like the others, although figuring out if its going to work for you probably won’t take that long. Once that time expires, then you’re left with two subscription options – Web only or Unlimited.
The Web only streaming gives you access to millions of songs using your desktop browser for A$8.90 per month. The Unlimited plan gets you streaming from the desktop as well as mobile clients for on-the-go listening. Rdio unlimited costs A$12.90 per month.
One great part of the Ultimate plan is that those of us with SONOS music systems around the house can also use Rdio. Previously Songl was the only available subscription service available for SONOS. While not exactly common place, those who have SONOS, love it, so it is a nice inclusion, but doesn’t appear to be listed as yet.
Mobile
The mobile apps are free and available in the App Store / Market / Marketplace now. While the Windows Phone and iOS apps are similar in functionality, the Android appears to be a little light on.
Like other subscription music services, you can download music for playback offline, but would need to connect after a period of time to check your subscription is still active.
It seems you can only stream from one device at a time, attempting to play Rdio on a second or third device will stop the first from playing.
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Price
While web-only might appeal to some, I consider a music service really only a viable option if they have a mobile solution. The table below compares the premium subscriptions of all four music subscriptions. Keep in mind that price alone shouldn’t be your only decision. NOW is the cheapest and it should be, no mobile apps and less music.
| Rdio | $12.90pm |
| Songl | $12.99pm |
| Zune | $11.99pm (119.90py) |
| NOW | $8.33pm (3 months min) |
Overall
It’s great to see more choice for consumers when it comes to music services. The model is definitely here to stay at as more consumers open their minds to streaming rather than owning music, the growth curve will only continue to the top-right. Personally I’m sold on the concept, as someone who enjoys the latest music, buying never really made sense.
So how does Rdio stack up compared to other local offerings ? The app support puts it ahead of JB Hi-Fi NOW, the iOS support puts it ahead of Zune, but then again doesn’t exist on the Xbox. When the SONOS component goes live that’ll really be enticing as mentioned above the only other option was Songl.
There doesn’t appear to be any noticeable quality differences between the services, so the choice really comes down to which offering matches your needs. In terms of Catalogue, I’ve found Zune to be the best, but so far Rdio is matching it. The exact number of tracks is in the millions but isn’t listed anywhere. Check it out, see what you think the trail is free for 7 days.
