Jay Z just bought a streaming service, but he may have bet on the wrong horse. A new player called Rithm wants to take on the likes of Spotify, TIDAL with lower subscription fees and social messaging.
For $3.99 per month, users can stream all the tracks they want from Rithm’s library and share their favorite music with friends using the app’s integrated messaging feature. That’s far less than Tidal’s asking price of $19.99 per month, or even Spotify’s rate of $9.99 per month.
The service — which has been in beta for a long while now — arrives today on iOS and Android, and also lets you tune in to 30-second song clips for free. Rithm is launching in the US and Canada, but will soon expand to other regions.
Will its low price be enough to sway users away from other services? A lot of that hinges on the actual user experience and the quality of content available in Rithm’s library. The company has partnered with major music labels like Universal, Sony and Warner Brothers, as well as indie label aggregators such as The Orchard and Merlin to round out its offering.
In addition, Rithm is working with popular artists like Steve Aoki, Migos, Zeds Dead and The Chainsmokers to introduce Artist Shops, where fans can purchase and share dancing emojis and stickers based on those acts.
It’s interesting that Rithm has chosen to enter the market not only with a lower price point, but also with a new social angle to music streaming. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s got the moves to keep up with the groove.
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