It was just last week that Greg brought us a first look at Rdio’s forthcoming iPad app, and now the streaming music contender has dropped another bombshell on us.
Last night, Rdio CEO Drew Lerner let slip that in addition to their current line up of plans, they will launch an “Unlimited Family” plan that lets users “share an account with multiple people at a discounted rate”. With this, Rdio is breaking out of the pricing rut that they and their competitors have been stuck in, and on top of that offer a compelling new concept for music sharing.
Currently, Rdio and their closest competitors share a strikingly similar pricing model: $4.99 nets you unlimited access to their respective music catalogs from PCs (and in Rdio and MOG’s case, Roku boxes). From there, a jump up to $9.99 yields access on the go via apps for most of your favorite mobile devices. While the core offerings remain the same, the particulars (i.e. offline playlist syncing, support for different mobile devices) vary from company to company. The battle to differentiate at identical price points is ultimately great for consumers, but the idea of offering a group rate for music lovers is breaking new entirely new ground in the music streaming space.
At this early stage, there are no details about what the new access plan will cost or when it will roll out, but much will be revealed in an online event Rdio plans to hold in coming weeks.