Sonos (SONO -1.21%) is getting into the streaming music market, announcing Sonos Radio, a free, ad-supported streaming radio service for its customers around the globe.
The new service will bring together more than 60,000 stations from several streaming partners, as well as original programming from the speaker maker. The service integrates TuneIn and iHeartRadio, two internet radio services. Sonos plans to add more partners in the future.
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"Sonos Radio brings together streaming radio services and a select set of curated radio stations in a simple, elegant way," Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said in a press release announcing the new initiative. "This is just a beginning as we work to deliver services that provide our customers a better experience, and provide our music streaming service partners an opportunity to highlight their best content."
The tech stock noted in the press release that half of its users' listening time is spent on radio stations. In addition to the radio stations, Sonos will stream original programming and a curated selection of music by artists. Sonos is kicking off with a personal station from Thom Yorke, the lead singer of Radiohead. Upcoming artist stations include curated music chosen by Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, David Bryne of Talking Heads, and Third Man Records. The service also includes more than thirty stations of music picked by Sonos, inspired by what its customers are listening to.
Sonos is entering a crowded market dominated by Spotify (SPOT 2.77%), Apple (AAPL 0.52%) Music, Pandora (OTC: PANDY), and Amazon's (AMZN -1.65%) music service. Up until the announcement, Sonos had been a neutral party, offering different streaming services on its platform.
