Skype co-founder Janus Friis launches latest venture in Australia

Skype co-founder Janus Friis has celebrated the Australian launch of his latest venture, a music streaming service known as Rdio, joining the likes of Spotify and We Are Hunted in the online music space.

Rdio, which is currently available in several other countries including the United States, Canada, Germany and Brazil, is a mix between a music site and a social media site.

It allows users to listen to music and discover new artists by creating a profile and following the activities of others. However, users pay for the service on a monthly basis rather than per song.

Rdio claims to have more than 12 million songs in its catalogue, which continues to grow.

“Rdio subscribers can listen to uninterrupted music any time, as much as they like and it is the only music service available in Australia that is accessible via every major platform,” it said in a statement.

“Rdio is working with every major music company (EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group) as well as key local independent labels and distributors to ensure Australians have the largest available library of music possible.”

According to Rdio chief executive Drew Larner, Australia has a “unique, thriving music culture”, boasting a wealth of music artists across all genres.

“We believe Australians will be extremely excited about discovering new local and international music, and accessing their digital music collections through any platform they want,” Larner told Macworld.

The service is available on the web, iPad, iPod Touch, and various smartphones and desktop apps. It is also available for users with a Sonos wireless audio system at home.

With the impending launch of Spotify, the market for music streaming services in Australia appears to be heating up, with competition intensifying as consumers become spoilt for choice.

Spotify recently struck a partnership with Brisbane start-up We Are Hunted, which provides a list of the top 99 tracks being talked about, blogged, shared and reviewed online each day.

Aimed at helping people discover new music, We Are Hunted will be used by Spotify to offer its customers a way to access new artists, rather than just established brands.

“We can help Spotify’s functionality and allow them to focus on what they do well,” We Are Hunted co-founder Richard Slatter told StartupSmart.

“You have to keep people excited by new things, which isn’t easy to do.”

“There is no financial deal with Spotify. We just want to get people participating.”