It’s been a hallmark of iHeartRadio‘s app for both free and paid users.
Now, Audacy is bringing “exclusive music stations” to its app, formerly known as Radio.com and acquired through the tax-fee CBS Radio merger.
“Exclusive stations underscore Audacy’s commitment to a roadmap of innovation, with many more features and interactivity to come over the coming months,” said J.D. Crowley, the Chief Digital Officer at Audacy.
Audacy adds that “the exclusive station collection is designed for fans by fans and will range widely across various music genres, moods and activities, enabling users to discover new music driven by their interests, favorite artists and upcoming events.”
This brings some 350 new stations, “expertly curated,” to the newly renamed Audacy app and digital audio platform. What makes this different from Pandora, or Spotify? That curation, Audacy notes, with on-air personalities contributing to the “millions of hours of human music compilation and audio production experience.”
Stations will also be built “by some of the biggest stars in the music industry.” They include Coldplay, a highly popular act of the 2000s; Top 40 and EDM act Tiësto, Disney Channel alumnus Sofia Carson and country music artist Jake Owen at launch, with additional artist-programmed stations added in the coming weeks.
Interesting, the catalogue of Audacy’s app-only stations is “Powered by Napster.”
Napster famously rose to prominence some 20 years ago for its users’ ability to download recorded music at no cost. It was shut down in July 2001, agreed to a $26 million settlement, and sought to relaunch as a paid service. This included an attempt to sell Napster to Bertelsmann for $85 million; a judged blocked the move, and its assets were sold off.
Today’s Napster is a descendent of the original Napster and since August has been owned by virtual reality events company MelodyVR.
