Rdio rolls out in Asia as part of seven country expansion

Rdio has been making fairly regular changes, improvements, and expansions, with today marking its newest roll out into new locations, as well as a first for the service – availability in Asia. The service had not previously been available anywhere in Asia, but with expansion into Hong Kong and Malaysia, it has found added a new first to its global footprint.

The expansion brings the service to users in seven countries: Malaysia and Hong Kong, as mentioned, as well as Chile, Colombia, Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic. This is its first expansion since January, during which it added free streaming to several countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway.

Those in the countries can score six free months of service when they sign up, says the announcement. This is part of the expansion that took place on January 28, which provides access without advertisements. Streaming can be done via the Rdio app or via the Web browser, with the desktop app being available for both Windows and OS X.

The six-month free listening period has a limitation on the number of songs that can be listened to on a monthly basis. This cap can be monitored by the user via a "song meter" type of tool that makes it easy to keep an eye when the user nears their monthly limitation. When the limit is hit, the user has to wait until the next month, or buy service.

On May 31, Rdio rolled out the first of what will be multiple updates, bringing with it a variety of improvements, including improved music discovery, friend discovery, AutoPlay personalized station, and thumbs up/thumbs down. With this latest expansion, the music service is now available in 31 countries located in 5 continents.

SOURCE: Rdio