7 ms·

Rumor: Microsoft In Acquisition Talks With Rdio

37 points by xmen 14y ago

ConstantineXVI 14y ago
Everything about "Xbox Music" I've seen (including the app in the Windows 8 RTM) would seem to indicate that the service is simply Zune without the tainted brand. I'm not entirely convinced Microsoft needs Rdio for such a service, beyond their userbase. Not to say an Rdio buyout would be unlikely, but the conjecture in this piece about Rdio being Xbox Music doesn't survive the facts already out there.
- daegloe 14y ago
  Agreed. Sure, there is some obvious upside for Microsoft (talent, code, international rights), but they don't need Rdio. Rdio, on the other hand, desperately needs Microsoft. It's a politically motivated rescue. Similar to the MOG acquisition.
- untog 14y ago
  Their 'web player' service exists, but is terrible. If it was at a low price (which, let's face it, it may well be) it might be worth snapping up Rdio just to get some attention given to their music web presence.
nirajd 14y ago
i've been a rdio subscriber for a while now. + new releases, right on time. + high quality (on wifi) - terrible to use on my commute 1hr. seems like the app doesn't buffer data properly for low signal scenarios (pandora does!) - when a song doesn't buffer properly, i "pause" the song and play local music. when the song buffers it stops my music and starts playing. this get's ridiculously annoying. - i've noticed my battery life being drained with the rdio app running (not playing or streaming) in the background. this may have been fixed in recent updates. imo, these guys have a lot to learn from pandora on ux
- computerbob 14y ago
  I am also a subscriber...do you use the desktop application or the web app in your browser. I found the desktop application to be terrible (as you described) however have found much much better luck with the browser. Ever since then I only use the web app and maybe have it buffer (stop playing) maybe once or at most twice a day.
  - nirajd 14y ago
    i'm using the ios app on a 4S
    - computerbob 14y ago
      That might be...I only ever did a trial on a mobile (htc thunderbolt). Guess I can't be any help then.
- WALoeIII 14y ago
  I have similar troubles with the mobile application when in "low signal" environments. It should decide to swap to local or do a better job buffering, but having 1 bar is not going to sustain a stream.
- lotso 14y ago
  I have a fair amount of streaming issues with Spotify as well. UI doesn't indicate any buffering so I'm stuck wondering if the app is having problems playing the song or it is going to play. I often find myself hitting next and then previous to see if the song will play. Sometimes I just flat out kill the app and restart and it'll play. I have no idea if that is actually doing anything, but it seems to work sometimes.
  - holic 14y ago
    Even offline playlists?
- benatkin 14y ago
  I agree, but instead of just calling this ux I'd call it engineering. Pandora has some amazing engineers. I know one of them, Casey, because he lives here in Colorado. He's one of the smartest engineers I've met. Rdio's great, but in addition to the issue you mentioned, they had an issue with Backbone.js and a Chrome Dev Channel bug, where rather than making some Backbone.js source changes to work around the Chrome bug, they simply waited it out. I doubt Pandora would have taken that approach. I think Microsoft would make Rdio more technically sound. They might screw up the business, but Skype seems to be doing alright and Yammer keeps plugging along, so I'm optimistic.
MatthewPhillips 14y ago
Music subscription space is not profitable.
- joenathan 14y ago
  Until it is.
  - mtgx 14y ago
    Until the labels stop taking the vast majority of profits from these services to allow them to be profitable. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/pandora-and-spotify-rake-in-the-money-and-then-send-it-off-in-royalties/ http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/pandora-and... There was a post about it from Spotify, too, but I can't find it now.
    - dchuk 14y ago
      but they won't do that, because they have and always will be a leaching industry. Any new revenue stream that emerges they're going to frantically latch onto.
      - b1daly 14y ago
        In what sense are the labels a leaching industry given that they put up a major proportion of the resources to produce the "content?" Spotify is a straight up middle man, what value do they really add?
megablast 14y ago
Rdio is thinking about acquiring Microsoft. Bold move.
- gcr 14y ago
  Pardon? Isn't it the other way around? If you're making a joke, I don't get it. Care to explain?
  - JimmaDaRustla 14y ago
    Obvious troll is obvious. Usually these types of comments get down voted into oblivion by god-like powers, but I guess this one is spared since it's attacking MS.
    - sordina 14y ago
      No one is attacking anyone or even trolling. The joke is that someone would misunderstand the headline, thinking that it was implying that Rdio was Acquiring Microsoft. The prospect of someone thinking this is so preposterous that it is funny. At least to me...
micloud 14y ago
Classic power brokers in play. Get the investments from influential people. Build a decent product. They will sell the company for you. No need to have traction. No challenge as well.
jbigelow76 14y ago
Microsoft's "just the tip" mentality when it comes to anything other than Windows or Office really pisses me off. Hardware not withstanding (and the last generation was really good), the Zune service is great. The client software is excellent and the subscription service is a great value at 10 bucks a month. But then there's the marketing aspect of it all. I think the interactions between the various MS Product Managers and the Marketing team goes something like this: Marketing Guy: "Alright, what are you here to talk about?" Product Manager: "<something not Windows or Office>" Marketing Guy: "Fuck off."
DigitalSea 14y ago
This is a bad move on Microsoft's part and I hope this deal doesn't actually come to fruition. Spotify has the market cornered in this space and even they've been running at a loss for a few years now. I am a huge fan of these services, but this would be a bad move for Microsoft who have finally found their footing in the mobile space only just recently after countless lost millions. I find this all a little too ironic given Rdio's current design looks like it heavily borrowed from the Windows 8 interface but that might just be due to the similar weights of the font being used on the Rdio homepage and bold flat colours.
- batiudrami 14y ago
  On the plus side, projects like Windows Phone and Xbox show that Microsoft has the money to burn while they work out a way to be profitable (and is prepared to do that). I'm concerned that Spotify will run out of money soon.
  - DigitalSea 14y ago
    That's true. I guess when you're a company that still makes a lot of money from the enterprise sector you can afford to burn through whatever amounts of money it takes. I'm too concerned that Spotify will run out of money, my girlfriend and I both have premium subscriptions (being able to tether my iPhone to the car stereo for an endless library of music is worth the $12 AUD a month for a premium account).

37 points by xmen 14y ago

Everything about "Xbox Music" I've seen (including the app in the Windows 8 RTM) would seem to indicate that the service is simply Zune without the tainted brand. I'm not entirely convinced Microsoft needs Rdio for such a service, beyond their userbase. Not to say an Rdio buyout would be unlikely, but the conjecture in this piece about Rdio being Xbox Music doesn't survive the facts already out there.

daegloe 14y ago
Agreed. Sure, there is some obvious upside for Microsoft (talent, code, international rights), but they don't need Rdio. Rdio, on the other hand, desperately needs Microsoft. It's a politically motivated rescue. Similar to the MOG acquisition.
untog 14y ago
Their 'web player' service exists, but is terrible. If it was at a low price (which, let's face it, it may well be) it might be worth snapping up Rdio just to get some attention given to their music web presence.

nirajd 14y ago

i've been a rdio subscriber for a while now. + new releases, right on time. + high quality (on wifi) - terrible to use on my commute 1hr. seems like the app doesn't buffer data properly for low signal scenarios (pandora does!) - when a song doesn't buffer properly, i "pause" the song and play local music. when the song buffers it stops my music and starts playing. this get's ridiculously annoying. - i've noticed my battery life being drained with the rdio app running (not playing or streaming) in the background. this may have been fixed in recent updates. imo, these guys have a lot to learn from pandora on ux

computerbob 14y ago
I am also a subscriber...do you use the desktop application or the web app in your browser. I found the desktop application to be terrible (as you described) however have found much much better luck with the browser. Ever since then I only use the web app and maybe have it buffer (stop playing) maybe once or at most twice a day.
- nirajd 14y ago
  i'm using the ios app on a 4S
  - computerbob 14y ago
    That might be...I only ever did a trial on a mobile (htc thunderbolt). Guess I can't be any help then.
WALoeIII 14y ago
I have similar troubles with the mobile application when in "low signal" environments. It should decide to swap to local or do a better job buffering, but having 1 bar is not going to sustain a stream.
lotso 14y ago
I have a fair amount of streaming issues with Spotify as well. UI doesn't indicate any buffering so I'm stuck wondering if the app is having problems playing the song or it is going to play. I often find myself hitting next and then previous to see if the song will play. Sometimes I just flat out kill the app and restart and it'll play. I have no idea if that is actually doing anything, but it seems to work sometimes.
- holic 14y ago
  Even offline playlists?
benatkin 14y ago
I agree, but instead of just calling this ux I'd call it engineering. Pandora has some amazing engineers. I know one of them, Casey, because he lives here in Colorado. He's one of the smartest engineers I've met. Rdio's great, but in addition to the issue you mentioned, they had an issue with Backbone.js and a Chrome Dev Channel bug, where rather than making some Backbone.js source changes to work around the Chrome bug, they simply waited it out. I doubt Pandora would have taken that approach. I think Microsoft would make Rdio more technically sound. They might screw up the business, but Skype seems to be doing alright and Yammer keeps plugging along, so I'm optimistic.

MatthewPhillips 14y ago

Music subscription space is not profitable.

joenathan 14y ago
Until it is.
- mtgx 14y ago
  Until the labels stop taking the vast majority of profits from these services to allow them to be profitable. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/pandora-and-spotify-rake-in-the-money-and-then-send-it-off-in-royalties/ http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/pandora-and... There was a post about it from Spotify, too, but I can't find it now.
  - dchuk 14y ago
    but they won't do that, because they have and always will be a leaching industry. Any new revenue stream that emerges they're going to frantically latch onto.
    - b1daly 14y ago
      In what sense are the labels a leaching industry given that they put up a major proportion of the resources to produce the "content?" Spotify is a straight up middle man, what value do they really add?

megablast 14y ago

Rdio is thinking about acquiring Microsoft. Bold move.

gcr 14y ago
Pardon? Isn't it the other way around? If you're making a joke, I don't get it. Care to explain?
- JimmaDaRustla 14y ago
  Obvious troll is obvious. Usually these types of comments get down voted into oblivion by god-like powers, but I guess this one is spared since it's attacking MS.
  - sordina 14y ago
    No one is attacking anyone or even trolling. The joke is that someone would misunderstand the headline, thinking that it was implying that Rdio was Acquiring Microsoft. The prospect of someone thinking this is so preposterous that it is funny. At least to me...

micloud 14y ago

Classic power brokers in play. Get the investments from influential people. Build a decent product. They will sell the company for you. No need to have traction. No challenge as well.

jbigelow76 14y ago

Microsoft's "just the tip" mentality when it comes to anything other than Windows or Office really pisses me off. Hardware not withstanding (and the last generation was really good), the Zune service is great. The client software is excellent and the subscription service is a great value at 10 bucks a month. But then there's the marketing aspect of it all. I think the interactions between the various MS Product Managers and the Marketing team goes something like this: Marketing Guy: "Alright, what are you here to talk about?" Product Manager: "<something not Windows or Office>" Marketing Guy: "Fuck off."

DigitalSea 14y ago

This is a bad move on Microsoft's part and I hope this deal doesn't actually come to fruition. Spotify has the market cornered in this space and even they've been running at a loss for a few years now. I am a huge fan of these services, but this would be a bad move for Microsoft who have finally found their footing in the mobile space only just recently after countless lost millions. I find this all a little too ironic given Rdio's current design looks like it heavily borrowed from the Windows 8 interface but that might just be due to the similar weights of the font being used on the Rdio homepage and bold flat colours.

batiudrami 14y ago
On the plus side, projects like Windows Phone and Xbox show that Microsoft has the money to burn while they work out a way to be profitable (and is prepared to do that). I'm concerned that Spotify will run out of money soon.
- DigitalSea 14y ago
  That's true. I guess when you're a company that still makes a lot of money from the enterprise sector you can afford to burn through whatever amounts of money it takes. I'm too concerned that Spotify will run out of money, my girlfriend and I both have premium subscriptions (being able to tether my iPhone to the car stereo for an endless library of music is worth the $12 AUD a month for a premium account).