Rdio today laid out a plan for shutting down its music streaming service after announcing earlier this week that it was filing for bankruptcy and selling its remaining assets to Pandora. Starting Monday, November 23rd, customers of Rdio's paid subscription service will automatically have their subscriptions canceled on their next billing date, but can continue to use the service until then, the company said today in a blog post.
Rdio will no longer be taking new subscriptions after the 23rd, and all users will be transitioned to Rdio's free, ad-supported tier following the final day of their billing cycle. The company hasn't said when it plans to take the entire service offline. "We’ll be in touch via email in the near future with more specifics, including the exact timing of Rdio’s end of service, as well as information on exporting your Rdio data, including your playlists and favorites," the company writes.
Rdio will live on in Pandora's upcoming on-demand service
The end of Rdio marks a turning point for the music streaming business as weaker competitors are consolidated into larger services and their customers are forced to choose from the remaining options. The Pandora deal is expected to close some time in 2016, and the internet radio company has already confirmed it plans to develop its own on-demand service using Rdio technology.
Pandora, because of its radio-centric format, has enjoyed smaller government-fixed royalty rates compared than competitors. Yet its reach has been limited to the US, New Zealand, and Australia as a result. The acquisition of Rdio, which is available in 100 countries worldwide, gives Pandora the opportunity to go head to head with on-demand leaders like Spotify and Apple Music while retaining its core business.