New and Improved
The new Rdio interface is a big change from the previous, relatively placid interface. Here are the important details:
- You can now reorganize your music in playlists using drag-and-drop. You can also drag and drop your music onto other people's playlists.
- You can now hover over an album to see which of your friends (if any) have listened to it.
- You can now quickly add entire albums to playlists, instead of painstakingly moving them song by song.
- You can now see what your friends are listening to by glancing at the sidebar.
- You can now see all of your playlists, friends, and music choices on one page.
Rdio seems to have taken some cues from Apple's iTunes, which puts all of the information you need onto one page.
Competition Hot on the Trail
Rdio's UI update is solid, but it's also been a great week for the competition.
Today at SXSW, free music curation service announced that it has finally with the four major music groups--Universal, Sony, Warner, and EMI.
Spotify also announced its own upcoming family plans this week at SXSW. The company didn't provide any details on the plans, but assured that said details are on the way. Spotify, a streaming music service, has been available in Europe for years but only just made its way to the United States in 2011.