Telus and Rdio to Partner to Take the Social Music Experience to the Next Level
Telus and US-based Rdio have announced that they intend to enter into an agreement that will give Telus smartphone customers the ability to subscribe to Rdio, an unlimited, on-demand social music service, via their existing Telus account. Rdio, founded by the creators of Skype, is the first service in Canada to bring social music discovery to mobile devices, giving users instant access to a growing catalogue of nearly nine million songs. Direct carrier billing will provide Telus customers with a secure, convenient, and easy way to subscribe to Rdio, and to access and share their music on the go.
Rdio is changing the way people discover, share and listen to music. For $10/month, Rdio users can play any song, album, artist and playlist as many times as they like, without ever hearing a single ad. Users also have access to new albums the day they are released. With Rdio, users can discover new and old favourites, and follow friends, people with similar musical tastes, recording artists and other influencers to see what they are listening to, and even collaborate on playlists. Rdio makes music sharing effortless thanks to integration with Facebook and Twitter which enables users to easily share their favourite songs, albums and playlists with friends.
Rdio syncs seamlessly across all of the user’s screens: PC and Mac computers, tablets, and of course smartphones, including iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7. That means users can pick up exactly where they left off, regardless of the device they’re listening on. Rdio also enables users to sync music to their mobile devices, so they can listen offline when there is no mobile signal or Internet connection.
“Telus is focused on curating the best Internet-based services for our mobile customers by partnering with innovative service providers who are leading on the global stage. We want to deliver a superior customer experience by making it easy for our customers to enjoy the best of what brands like Rdio have to offer and empower them to choose the services that are right for them,” said Brent Johnston, vice-president of mobility solutions at Telus. “Our customers have told us that being able to customize their mobile experience with the services they want is important to them. Telus wants to make that easier, and of course to ensure their experience is second to none on Canada’s fastest (based on Telus’ tests of data throughput speeds in large Canadian urban centres) coast-to-coast 4G network.”
Direct, one-click billing will make it easy for Telus customers and new Rdio subscribers to enjoy the social music service. Customers simply create a profile, download the Rdio app, and subscribe. They can then pay their monthly Rdio subscription directly through Telus and view the charge on their Telus bill. Rdio has a similar direct carrier billing arrangement with U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless in the United States.
“Our integration with Telus will make it even easier for Canadian customers to enjoy music in a way they have never experienced before,” said Drew Larner, CEO of Rdio. “Rdio’s ability to sync music across so many different platforms and devices gives them this freedom, with the added convenience of direct carrier billing.”
