The New York Times is reporting that Rdio is partnering with Cumulus Media—a company that owns, like, real radio station—to provide a free version of its audio streaming service.
According to the Times, Rdio will trade a stake in its parent company, Pulser Media, for the ability to use chunks of Cumulus programming and promos on its own streams. In return, Cumulus will sell ads for Rdio’s new free service and compile playlists for the new service.
Essentially, that’ll mean that Rdio’s free service isn’t just music, but is filled with news and talk shows, too. Depending on you perspective that’s either a good or bad thing, but it certainly differentiates the free service from the like of Spotify, Pandora and iTunes Radio.
The Times speculates that you can expect to see the free Rdio service someone before the end of the year. [NYT]
