If you're a developer interested in integrating music with a social bent into your web apps, start your engines: Super-social music subscription service Rdio is opening its Rdio.com API and affiliate program to developers.
Friday at SXSW, the service, which comes from the founders of Skype, announced that developers now will be able to tap into Rdio's web API, which will let them bring music into their web apps. That means that they can now access all of Rdio's 8 million songs, and monetize any apps using the API through Rdio's affiliate program, which will pay devs commission for directing new subscribers their way, and for song downloads.
“Developers who have been looking for a way to integrate music into their web applications now have a way to do it easily, legally and accessibly," says Todd Berman, VP of engineering at Rdio. "We’re also excited that our subscribers and the public will now be able to access Rdio content all over the web.”
While it's certainly interesting that devs will be able to access Rdio's extensive catalog, what's perhaps even more intriguing is that they will also be able to take advantage of the service's social features: seeing what friends are listening to, following other music fans and making playlists and collections. These aspects are what make Rdio unique from other music subscription services, which by and large lack robust social features.
Rdio also says that it will release its playback API for iOS and Android soon -- which means mobile developers will have access to Rdio's music collection (but not its social features).
Perhaps the most intriguing use of the Rdio API we have seen has been the MusicMapper app, which was created for the 2011 Grammy Awards. This app lets users tag certain locations with relevant music, via Rdio.
We're interested to see what kinds of APIs and products come to light as more and more subscription services open up their APIs. At CES, MOG announced The MOG Fusion Program, which helps consumer electronics and auto manufacturers integrate MOG’s APIs (including catalog search, playlisting, favoriting, etc.) into their products.
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