Skype mastermind Janus Friis launches Rdio in Australia

The man behind Skype, Janus Friis, has launched his next brilliant idea in Australia. It’s called Rdio and promises to deliver Aussies unlimited amount of music for a nominal monthly fee. But will it revolutionise the music industry?

Rdio is a mix between a music and a social media site. Much like what iTunes is trying to achieve with Ping and Genius, Rdio will let you listen to music and discover new artists by creating your own profile and following the activities of others. But when it comes to payment, it’s totally different. This is a monthly fee situation, not pay per song.

The service reports it has more than 12 million songs in its catalogue that will keep growing over time. The press release boasts: “Rdio subscribers can listen to uninterrupted music any time, as much as they like and it is the only music service available in Australia that is accessible via every major platform, whether online or offline.

“A testament to its commitment to amassing the best catalogue of music, Rdio is working with every major music company (EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Univeral Music Group, and Warner Music Group) as well as key local independent labels and distributors (such as Inertia, Liberation Music, Modular, Shock and more) to ensure Australians have the largest available library of music possible.”

With Rdio you can create your own playlists, listen to music while you’re off-line, share music with friends and more. And what will all of this cost you? Between $8.90 and $12.90 per month.

Go for the Rdio Web package and you get unlimited access to millions of songs from a browser or through its Windows and Mac desktop apps. Plump for the Rdio Unlimited package and you will get unlimited web and mobile streaming, including offline access, on iPhone and iPod Touch, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, iPad, and Sonos (coming soon to Kobo Vox).

There is currently a 7-day free trial for new users available. Get the details here.