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Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

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Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#61

Post by infecto »

vlunkr wrote: post #39
disposition2 wrote: post #31

As someone who switched to Rdio from Spotify because the former has not terrible music discovery, this is unfortunate. Looks like I'll be switching again...it would be nice to find a streaming service that was about music discovery rather than forcing the latest garbage down your throat. Although who knows, maybe Spotify's radio now plays more than 10 songs...

Spotify now has a playlist called discover weekly or something that is songs they pick for you once a week, and in my experience it's actually pretty good. I've discovered several artists that way. And I also found Spotify radio to be awful.

I love Discover Weekly. It is the one thing that has really stood out to me. I have found a lot of songs/artists that I love using this service.

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#62

Post by daigoba66 »

uptown wrote: post #2

There's not enough listeners for the number of music services. If your service stumbles, it's easy to move onto something else, so you really only get one or no chances to convince your potential customers. My experience with Rdio was one of frustration. Their desktop player was buggy and frequently failed to play anything at all. When it did work, I found the consistency of the music catalog to be unreliable. One we…

Apple, etc., should open an API and SDK to allow developers to build better and innovative UIs on top of the data and streams. The UI is what I enjoyed most about Rdio and enjoy least about Apple Music and others.

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#63

Post by Artistry121 »

threeseed wrote: post #46
matwood wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you about Google Music. For those lucky enough to sign up early and get the $7.99 price, it is easily the best pay for streaming service out there.

Best is subjective. Google Music is definitely a great music store. For those wanting a social music experience Spotify is the "best". For those wanting curated music and a digital radio experience Apple Music is the "best". For those wanting a hands off service Pandora is the "best".

I find Google Music has better playlist and radio functionality than all others - probably because of the songza acquisition.

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#65

Post by kryptiskt »

elif wrote: post #42
nathancahill wrote: post #16

Interesting way to exit. Is that common?

That's the part that intrigued me. Chapter 11 means the original investors get the short end right? why would they agree to this acquisition? or do they get money back, and tax-payers cover the losses?

VC investors typically holds convertible debt, so they are still in it if shareholders get wiped out, they may take a loss though. Tax payers should be fine, the Tax Man is in front of the queue.

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#66

Post by jbigelow76 »

bsimpson wrote: post #8

I've been told by people in the position to know that the 2010-era streaming services (Rdio, Spotify, Mog) were all effectively the same company: owned mostly by the music studios (in exchange for licenses) with a minority stake for each's particular founders/investors. As Dalton Caldwell cautioned in 2011, licensing costs make music startups are nigh impossible [1]. For people who are willing to pay for a music serv…

For people who are willing to pay for a music service, it seems pretty hard to beat Google Music's value proposition. Because it's a Google service, it can afford to compete as much as it needs to on price

I thought something similar about XBox Music, I figured with Microsoft's money it would never go away and it would have at least as good a selection of music as other music only services. I am right on the former, wrong on the latter. When I gave Spotify a shot I found they had a larger catalog of songs than XBox Music (particularly indie bands).

I guess it comes down to XBox Music is probably a loss leader or at least a runt service that doesn't get much love at MS but at Spotify, it's their ONLY business. Maybe Google is different than MS as far as how much attention they put into their music licensing (and there is the added YouTube benefit you mentioned) but it's something to consider (or at least really compare catalog access).

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#67

Post by _jomo »

I really liked Grooveshark because it had a proper HTML5 player before they shut down. I was looking for alternatives and recently found Rdio and was quite happy with it, actually it has a lot in common with Grooveshark (e.g. user stations).

Both Spotify and Deezer have web apps but they require Flash. Spotify has forwarded people asking for an HTML player to the forum and they have successfully ignored it for years. I sent Deezer a mail, they told me to "rest assured we are considering all options" and "if a transition is made it will take some time to implement".

Are there any alternatives that do not require a custom client or Flash (that also work in Europe)?

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#68

Post by nathancahill »

sawthat wrote: post #64
nathancahill wrote: post #16

Interesting way to exit. Is that common?

Yup. It's failure. To be less glib: when your company can't pay it's bills and can't get more investment you file for bankruptcy protection.

Yes, but where does the $75M end up? Wouldn't Chapter 11 be an end run around investors?

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#69

Post by gitah »

livingparadox wrote: post #27
gitah wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 110% sure subscriber accounts are part of the 'Key Assets' Pandora bought from Rdio.

"...in the call today McAndrews made clear that those numbers [of users] are irrelevant since that service is shutting down, not transferring."

How does that indicate Pandora doesn't get the contact information and payment information of Rdio subscribers?

Re: Pandora to Buy Rdio Assets for $75M, Rdio Files Ch.11, Will Shutter Service

#70

Post by colmvp »

infecto wrote: post #61
vlunkr wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spotify now has a playlist called discover weekly or something that is songs they pick for you once a week, and in my experience it's actually pretty good. I've discovered several artists that way. And I also found Spotify radio to be awful.

I love Discover Weekly. It is the one thing that has really stood out to me. I have found a lot of songs/artists that I love using this service.

Did they develop this in-house or acquire a technology for this?
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