ATLANTA, Sept. 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cumulus Media Inc.(Nasdaq: CMLS ) and Rdio announce a powerful content, promotion and advertising partnership that provides listeners with a one-stop solution for their audio needs while offering advertisers new opportunities to engage with consumers.
The strategic partnership will provide Cumulus with a financial interest in the larger digital music ecosystem and allows Rdio to launch free, ad-supported products in the United States while accelerating the activation of new users and subscribers.
Cumulus will obtain a significant equity stake in Pulser Media, Rdio's parent company, in exchange for exclusive content, media and on-air promotional commitments over a five year period. In addition, Rdio will leverage the Cumulus sales infrastructure to monetize its upcoming ad-supported free products, including music on-demand, custom playlists and exclusive content curated by Cumulus.
Available in over 30 countries, Rdio is the digital music service founded by the co-creator of Skype. On Rdio, music fans discover, play and share more than 20 million songs and build a digital music collection that's available to stream on the web, on mobile and offline. Rdio offers listeners an ever-growing catalog and an endless variety of passive listening options, including personalized radio stations. The New York Times has recently called Rdio its "go-to music app" for its "beautiful design and user interface," while Mashable has lauded it as the "music discovery version of a candy store."
"This partnership leverages our premier broadcast and content assets along with Rdio's acclaimed digital audio platform -- enabling consumers to listen to whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want," said Lew Dickey, CEO of Cumulus.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Cumulus and their robust network of radio stations and premium content," says Drew Larner, CEO of Rdio. "This monumental deal is the first time a digital and a broadcast platform have come together in this way and we're eager to bring the Rdio experience to the greater Cumulus listening audience."
RBC Capital Markets initiated and facilitated this transaction.
About Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media Inc. (Nasdaq: CMLS ) is the largest pure-play radio company in the nation, with approximately 520 owned and operated radio stations, a distribution network reaching nearly 5,500 stations and a content creation platform recently fortified by its pending acquisition of Dial Global. For more information, visit www.cumulus.com .
About Rdio
Rdio is the groundbreaking digital music service that is reinventing the way people discover, listen to, and share music. With on-demand access to over 20 million songs, Rdio connects people with music and makes it easy to search for and instantly play any song, album, artist, or playlist without ever hearing a single ad. Discover what friends, people with similar tastes, recording artists, and more are listening to in real-time and share across Twitter and Facebook. Build a digital music collection that's available everywhere -- on the web, in-home or in-car, on tablets or mobile phones, and even offline.
Launched in August 2010, Rdio is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded by Janus Friis, the co-creator of Skype and is currently available in 31 countries. For more information and to sign up, visit www.rdio.com .
Davidson Goldin Goldin Solutions (for Cumulus) 212 319 3451 x640 Nada Antoun (for RDIO) 512 560 6944
