Kudos Records’ Fully Licensed, On Demand, Music Radio Service attracts key radio talent.

Since its launch in June, Playdio‘s innovative broadcasting platform has attracted those key presenters and producers who wish to create entertaining, radio-like programmes outside the tyranny of imposed play-lists.

Norman Jay is possibly the UK’s most respected DJ (as recognized by his MBE for services to the music industry).  He first came to prominence playing ‘warehouse’ parties in the early 1980s. His diverse and deep musical knowledge and his refusal to be restricted to playing from any single genre distinguishes him from his peers, and makes him perfect for Playdio ! He is commonly attributed to coining the phrase ‘rare groove’.

Norman’s Sunday afternoon DJ slot at The Big Chill Festival is legendary, and for many, his “Good Times Sound System” IS the Notting Hill Carnival.  His debut Playdio show, produced by Pixiu Productions, is very “Good Times” and a chance to enjoy Carnival all over again, this time from the comfort of your sofa.

Playdio shows are created by combining pre-recorded spoken word segments with music chosen from a streaming music service (currently Spotify). Playdio (Playlist Radio) allows listeners to enjoy “radio-like” music shows, complete with DJ banter and full-length music.   Accessing a Playdio show is as simple as clicking on a link, which opens the playlist within Spotify.  Premium Spotify users can cache shows to listen to offline or on the move.

Shows currently hosted at Playdio include;

• Regular broadcasts by Phill Jupitus and Phil Wilding,
• A Mark Webster radio series entitled “The Soul of…..” where Mark explores the black music roots of pops greatest icons
• A satirical current affairs programme, “3D radio“, featuring Victoria Hollingsorth, Chris Atkins and Alexis Dubus.

along with contributions from Peter Curran, Talc, Dom Servini, and a host of others presenters and programmers.

http://playdio.com/

Playdio – Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Playdio Show?

A Playdio Show is similar to a recorded radio show or podcast, except that it uses a streaming digital music service as its broadcast platform.

Radio shows are typically a selection of music, separated by spoken word (chat, banter and interviews). So, to create a Playdio Show, a show’s producer chooses music from a digital music service, and records and uploads the spoken word bits as separate tracks to the same digital music service. The spoken word tracks and musical selections are re-assembled to create a shareable playlist

This shareable play-list is a Playdio Show.

Are Playdio shows only available on Spotify?
Playdio only really suits either streaming or subscription music services. If we uploaded Playdio shows to an a-la-carte service, (where you pay for every individual download), the price you would have to pay for the entire show and its related music would be prohibitive.

Spotify is currently a great fit. We are already in talks with a number of other streaming and subscription platforms to host Playdio shows, and look forward to announcing new partners shortly.  Ideally we would like Playdio to be completely platform independent to ensure shows are as widely available as possible.

How can I listen to a Playdio show on the tube / in my car / on the train / while on holiday?
If you take out a Spotify Premium subscription, you can cache your Playdio shows on a compatible mobile device, and make them playable “off line”.

How do I get the Spotify program?
Spotify is available for free from www.spotify.com. Spotify is currently only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Spain.

Who are “we”?

We are Kudos Records, a Music Distribution company and Digital Aggregator based in London. You can find out more about us at www.kudosrecords.co.uk and www.kudos-digital.co.uk.  We supply music to all the main digital services, including Itunes, Emusic, Juno, Beatport, and of course Spotify.

Kudos Records have today launched the Beta version of their new Playdio service. The world’s first fully interactive, on-demand radio service, Playdio (Playlist Radio) allow listeners to enjoy music shows exactly as they were intended – with full-length tracks – and at a time and place of their choosing.

Till now licensing rules have meant that broadcasters have been unable to legally deliver podcasts containing full-length tracks from established artists. To sidestep this Playdio will initially use Spotify to deliver fully licensed and interactive, on-demand radio shows.

Meanwhile talks are ongoing with other streaming platforms and Kudos is keen to ultimately make Playdio platform independent.

The first presenters to produce Playdio shows include Phill Jupitus and Phil Wilding, whose Perfect Ten podcast has racked up over a hundred thousand subscribers – and that’s despite being unable play a single track.

Other inaugural Playdio shows come from the likes of BBC presenters Peter Curran and Mark Webster, Record label Wah Wah 45’s boss Dom Servini, and popular internet broadcasters Jon Verry and Barry Guffy with their The Carriage Clock show.

These initial Playdio shows are Spotify playlists, which combines the spoken word ‘tracks’ recorded by the presenters with the selected music the producer wishes to play in their show. Accessing a Playdio show is as simple as clicking on a link, which opens the playlist Spotify.

As with all Spotify playlists Premium users will be able to cache shows to listen to offline or on the move. And thanks to Spotify’s new social media integrations their shows can be easily distributed through the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

Playdio stands to benefit everyone. Show producers are finally free to create (and get paid for) the shows that they want, unencumbered by the tyranny of the playlist. Producers are paid per stream for their spoken word tracks in exactly the same way as the music’s rights holders.

Rights holders stand to gain from the monetisation of a new revenue stream, and like Spotify itself they will benefit from anything that encourages Spotify users to upgrade to premium accounts.

Finally and most importantly, consumers get the benefit of shows produced by true music lovers which, for the first time, are truly interactive allowing them to skip back and forth across tracks and with one click find out more about the artists whose music is being played.

Welcome to 21st Century music radio.

Said Danny Ryan, Managing Director, Kudos Records “We are delighted to declare Playdio open for business and very proud to be able offer such a fine selection of opening shows from the likes of Phill Jupitas and Phil Wilding, Mark Webster., Dom Servini,and Peter Curran.

On demand, interactive radio seems like such a natural idea. As much as people have embraced services like Spotify it’s also clear that in a world of unlimited musical choices we still need people with passion, knowledge and experience to help us pick our way through the music maze.”

http://www.playdio.com/

Listened to a podcast from a major broadcaster like the BBC recently and noticed anything missing, the music perhaps? It can be a bit of a shock especially when you’ve downloaded what they claim to be the ‘best bits’ from, say, The George Lamb show to find, contrary to popular opinion, those best bits are apparently just George.

As with so many things digital and music, what should be a golden time for all has been tarnished by the inability of broadcasters to legally deliver podcasts containing full-length tracks from established artists. Cutting through the red tape Kudos Records, one of the UK’s leading digital music distributors, will launch an innovative on-demand radio service this June, Playdio.

Playdio (Playlist Radio) allow listeners to enjoy music shows exactly as they were intended – with full-length tracks – and at a time and place of their choosing.
Playdio will initially use Spotify to deliver fully licensed and interactive, on-demand radio shows. Meanwhile talks are ongoing with other streaming platforms and Kudos is keen to ultimately make Playdio platform independent.
The first presenters lined up include Phill Jupitus and Phil Wilding, whose Perfect Ten podcast has racked up over a hundred thousand subscribers – and that’s despite being unable play a single track. Further shows are being lined up by BBC presenters Peter Curran and Mark Webster.

Playdio shows comprise a Spotify playlist that combines spoken ‘tracks’ – recorded by the presenters – and the selected tracks the producer wishes to play in their show.

Accessing a Playdio show is as simple as clicking on a link, which opens the playlist within Spotify. As with all Spotify playlists Premium users will be able to cache shows to listen to offline or on the move. And thanks to Spotify’s new social media integrations their shows can be easily distributed through the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

Playdio stands to benefit everyone. Show producers are finally free to create (and get paid for) the shows that they want, unencumbered by the tyranny of the playlist. Producers are paid per stream for their spoken word tracks in exactly the same way as the music’s rights holders.

Rights holders stand to gain from the monetisation of a new revenue stream, and like Spotify itself they will benefit from anything that encourages Spotify users to upgrade to premium accounts.

Finally and most importantly, consumers get the benefit of shows produced by true music lovers which, for the first time, are truly interactive allowing them to skip back and forth across tracks and with one click find out more about the artists whose music is being played.

Welcome to 21st Century music radio.

Said Danny Ryan, Managing Director, Kudos Records “We are always keen to work with service providers to find new and interesting ways to reach the consumer.  Adding value to legal services is the key way our industry can successfully compete with file sharing and torrents.”

-    end –

Playdio – Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Playdio Show?
A Playdio Show is similar to a recorded radio show or podcast, except that it uses a streaming digital music service as its broadcast platform.

Radio shows are typically a selection of music, separated by spoken word (chat, banter and interviews). So, to create a Playdio Show, a show’s producer chooses music from a digital music service, and records and uploads the spoken word bits as separate tracks to the same digital music service. The spoken word tracks and musical selections are re-assembled to create a shareable playlist

This shareable playlist is a Playdio Show.

Will Playdio shows replace Podcasts?
Podcasts currently have the advantage of being relatively easy to distribute. They are not limited to any service’s user-base, so you don’t need an account with anyone to subscribe to a podcast.

However, the two main problems with podcasts are that [1] you can’t easily include music, as there isn’t a licensing framework, and [2] there is no natural monetisation mechanism for the podcast creator. Playdio addresses these key issues, and as streaming music services become more ubiquitous, this “ease of distribution” advantage will become more marginal.

Will Playdio shows only be available on Spotify?
Playdio only really suits either streaming or subscription music services. If we uploaded Playdio shows to an a-la-carte service, (where you pay for every individual download), the price you would have to pay for the entire show and its related music would be prohibitive.

Spotify is currently a great fit for what we are trying to achieve. We are already in talks with a number of other streaming and subscription platforms to host Playdio shows, and look forward to announcing new partners shortly.  Ideally we would like Playdio to be completely platform independent to ensure shows are as widely available as possible.

How can I listen to a Playdio show on the tube / in my car / on the train / while on holiday?
If you take out a Spotify Premium subscription, you can cache your Playdio shows on a compatible mobile device, and make them playable “off line”.

How do I get the Spotify program?
The free, advertising supported version of Spotify is currently invite only. You can sign up for the Premium version at www.spotify.com. Spotify is currently only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France and Spain.

So, what’s the Plan?
We will launch an initial collection of Playdio Shows in early June 2010.  We are developing our website at www.playdio.com where listeners can search and browse for Playdio shows.   The site will also have a secure area for show creators to upload their shows to Spotify.

Who are “we”?
We are Kudos Records, a Music Distribution company and Digital Aggregator based in London. You can find out more about us at www.kudosrecords.co.uk and www.kudos-digital.co.uk.  We supply music to all the main digital services, including Itunes, Emusic, Juno, Beatport, and of course Spotify.