Streaming-radio service TuneIn is trying something new for Amazon’s Echo speakers. It’s a discounted premium subscription tier, which will cost $2.99 a month from Alexa-enabled devices, compared to the usual $9.99-a-month cost of TuneIn’s premium tier.
The strategy matches what Amazon has done with its $3.99-a-month ‘Echo Plan’ for its Music Unlimited music-streaming service.
The emphasis for TuneIn Live is as much on sports and news as on music-radio stations: US sporting leagues MLB, NBA, NHL, and the NFL are all among its partners. TuneIn says it builds on strong listening growth to its basic service, which streams live-radio stations, on smart speakers.
“Across our entire portfolio of speaker integrations – including Alexa, Sonos, Bose, etc. – we have seen over 1 billion listening hours streamed in the past 12 months alone,” its VP of distribution and business development Tony Archibong told TechCrunch.
TuneIn says it has 75 million monthly active users overall now. The company’s legal issues with music rightsholders – Sony Music and Warner Music launched legal proceedings against it in the UK late last year – aren’t mentioned in the report.
Read Music Ally’s recent report on smart speakers (PDF) co-published with the BPI and ERA
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…