New Delhi: Digital music service Rdio has acquired India's Dhingana, and will launch Rdio India later this year. This comes exactly one month after Dhingana closed the shutters on its service without any explanation.
Dhingana's team in India would be joining Rdio to extend their musical catalog, which has over 1 million songs in 42 languages and Indian genres. Dhingana founders Snehal Shinde and Swapnil Shinde will join the executive team at Rdio, to expand the service to India as well as other emerging markets.
Rdio has over 20 million songs and is available in 51 countries worldwide. The app is available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. The free version offers Rdio stations on Phone and PC and Albums plus Playlists on PC. The paid version costs $9.99/ month for Albums + Playlists on Smartphones and Ad-Free experience.
“We are one of (the) very few global companies that can provide a great music experience to an expanding international audience, and it is our objective to bring that experience to India and to non-resident Indians and fans around the world,” Rdio CEO Anthony Bay has said.
Rdio also plans to launch its premium feature in India, cheaper than Saavn Pro and Gaana+ from its competitors.
Despite raising $7 million in 2012 and hiring its first external CEO less than one year ago, Dhingana came unstuck after its biggest music label partner — T-Series — declined to renew its licensing agreement in December last year.
With its big market of potential music-listeners, India can prove to be valuable for Rdio's business.
