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TuneIn Premium: The New $8 A Month Subscription Service From TuneIn

TuneIn Premium: The New $8 A Month Subscription Service From TuneIn

TuneIn, a radio service provider, has just launched a new subscription service called TuneIn Premium. Costing $7.99 a month, TuneIn Premium offers music lovers loads of new premium content, plus a nice zero advertising feature. TuneIn is considered one of the most well known radio apps that work on both the Android and iOS platforms. A big reason for this is the mobile app’s extensive database of live radios across the globe. Together with iHeart Radio, they have turned into two of the most popular ways in which listeners can tune in to their favorite old school radio via a web connection.

 

Before, TuneIn only had a pro edition of its mobile app, featuring a recording functionality and sans banner ads. It appears that it was not enough to generate revenues sufficient for the company to stay afloat. This part of the reason why TuneIn is introducing a new subscription service. And the company is enhancing the experience by removing audio ads from radio stations. Instead of commercials, what listeners will now hear is music in lieu of the audio ads.

 

Also, TuneIn streams music directly from its servers, and the disk jockeys do not need to pick these songs because TuneIn will look for tracks that users like depending on what they have been previously listening. It is not clear if TuneIn shares its earnings with the radio stations because technically, TuneIn is serving as sort of an ad blocker for radio.

 

Furthermore, TuneIn inked deals with both the Major League Baseball and the Premier League so that users can tune in to live play by play baseball or futbol matches. For analysis of these games, the company is launching stations specifically built for certain sports teams. Lastly, TuneIn also struck deals with book publishing companies, including Penguin Random House and HarperCollins, in offering an audiobook library, wherein subscribers can stream 40,000 audiobooks. This essentially makes TuneIn a competitor Scribd, which acts like a Netflix for audiobooks and ebooks. 

 

The question though is: will consumers avail of TuneIn’s subscription service? It is difficult to determine for now, but TuneIn’s new service certainly does try to hit three birds with one stone -- those who like to listen to music without audio ads, sports fans who like listening to the radio, and those who like devouring audiobooks. Of course, not every consumer is all three at once, but there may be those who can appreciate one or two of what TuneIn Premium can offer.