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

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

#71

Post by smt88 » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:52 PM UTC

_jomo wrote: post #67

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.…

The Google Play Music library is excellent (I think it's still the biggest). You could try something like this:

http://bluestackstutorial.com/2015/07/google-play-music-for-...

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

#72

Post by sawthat » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:54 PM UTC

nathancahill wrote: post #68

sawthat wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

The $75 million will be used to pay creditors. It's not an end run, it's better than the alternative which would be creditors going after shareholders to recover their debts. (which is why bankruptcy protection exists)

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

#73

Post by kbenson » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:54 PM UTC

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".

This make a lot of sense to me. Every time this discussion comes up, I'm stuck wondering what the hubbub is, since I've never wanted for anything more than Pandora. In fact, Pandora is perfect for me, since I very specifically do not want to curate my music at all beyond choosing a song, artist or genre and letting it pick stuff I might like. Letting me thumbs up/down stuff to get it better to my tastes is just gravy.

I sure as hell don't want to actively pursue and catalogue music new to me, that just sounds tedious.

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

#74

Post by danr4 » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:54 PM UTC

As someone who thinks Rdio is the best streaming service for diehard music fans, this really pains me.

With that being said, I definitely saw it coming.

No meaningful technical upgrades to the platform have been made in the past year, while keeping the technical deficiencies. the mobile apps are a disaster, and overall I had the feeling they were busy searching for a way to stay afloat.

Sad day indeed.

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

#75

Post by atourgates » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:54 PM UTC

nbarbettini wrote: post #53

I've used Rdio for a few years now, and this sucks. Spotify's UI doesn't compete.

I tried out both a couple years ago, found them to be pretty comparable in terms of music catalog, and chose Rdio because I prefer their interface.

Recently, I've been noticing that some of the "people" I follow have stopped publishing playlists to Rdio in favor of Spotify, so I've been considering the switch. But it's a shame to have to leave Rdio's great HTML5 web interface for either Spotify's native app or flash.

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

#76

Post by danr4 » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:55 PM UTC

As someone who thinks Rdio is the best streaming service for diehard music fans, this really pains me.

With that being said, I definitely saw it coming.

No meaningful technical upgrades to the platform have been made in the past year, while keeping the technical deficiencies. the mobile apps are a disaster, and overall I had the feeling they were busy searching for a way to stay afloat.

Sad day indeed.

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

#77

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:57 PM UTC

arthurfm wrote: post #15

tetraodonpuffer wrote: post #9

that is really unfortunate, I much prefer Rdio's web interface to Spotify's and for all the years I've been a subscriber it's been rock solid, on the other hand I do think I am likely not the typical user (100% on desktop, mostly listens to full albums rather than random songs, a lot of classical music, etc.) When Rdio shuts down I am really not sure where I will be able to go for a comparable experience, Spotify for…

> I am also not sure if Apple music is useable without an iDevice. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.andr... http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/11/16/apple-music-review-i...

[deleted]

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

#78

Post by rjbrock » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 10:58 PM UTC

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 has a habit of replaying songs that I have already thumbs downed as well as other songs by that same artist.

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

#79

Post by archagon » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 11:02 PM UTC

matart wrote: post #41

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…

I really like spotify because I can use it on my phone, PS3, laptop, etc. My phone can be the remote to my sound system in another room. I also have a small data plan on my phone so I do not stream music. Spotify allows me to download their songs for playing offline. Does Google Music provide these or similar?

Spotify also has a native(-ish) OSX client (can you use Google Music outside the browser?) and excellent playlist drag/drop and sharing support. Plus, I love their iOS user interface. No other service has come close in either area.

I just wish they had better local file support.

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

#80

Post by jnet » Mon, Nov 16, 2015, 11:03 PM UTC

atourgates wrote: post #75

nbarbettini wrote: post #53

I've used Rdio for a few years now, and this sucks. Spotify's UI doesn't compete.

I tried out both a couple years ago, found them to be pretty comparable in terms of music catalog, and chose Rdio because I prefer their interface. Recently, I've been noticing that some of the "people" I follow have stopped publishing playlists to Rdio in favor of Spotify, so I've been considering the switch. But it's a shame to have to leave Rdio's great HTML5 web interface for either Spotify's native app or flash.

Spotify has a web player as well