Streaming music is a crowded party, and it’s only getting worse. Or better, I guess, if you like options (quality notwithstanding).
Well, here’s another option for you – a hybrid ad-free radio / limited streaming service that isn’t free, but doesn’t cost as much as most unlimited streaming plans.
Rdio has just announced a new tier – Rdio Select. For $3.99 a month, you can enjoy ad-free radio with no skip limits on mobile. Rdio says this functionality is coming soon to other devices with Rdio apps, like the Roku and Chromecast.
Here’s where the hybrid element comes in – Rdio will let you download full songs for offline play, but it’ll limit it to 25 per day with Rdio Select. You can replace those 25 songs once per day.
So, if you know what you want to listen to and it’s not more than a couple albums a day, this sounds like a decent option. Rdio is also bumping up the audio quality for Select subscribers – to 320 kbps.
Introducing #RdioSelect: Enjoy ad-free stations & keep 25 mobile downloads to play anytime for just $3.99 a month! http://t.co/lEvLyJN8B3
— Rdio (@Rdio) May 14, 2015
Rdio Select seems to be for people who don’t care to pay something (because maybe they hate ads), but aren’t cool with giving up $10 every month for Spotify premium or even Rdio’s premium tier. Does that market exist? Rdio sure hopes so.
If you’re a person who loves curated internet radio, this could be a nice fit – it eliminates the worst part of internet radio (ads and skip limits). But if you’re a person who is more of a playlist curator yourself, or likes to be in control of what you listen to at all times, or streaming music constantly all day – having just 25 songs per day is probably doing to annoy you at some point.
If you want to see if this plan works for you, Rdio is offering a free 60-day trial.
Image via Rdio, Twitter
