All-Encompassing Streaming Service, Sonos Radio
60,000+ stations comprise the new musical hub
Launching today, Sonos Radio will provide listeners with hour upon hour of original content, curated playlists and some 60,000+ radio stations—all under a tab within the Sonos app. The collection will be easily accessible from the main screen; simply tapping “Sonos Radio” opens the door to the aforementioned content. From there, listeners have three options: Sonos Presents, Sonos Stations, and Local Stations. Under the first, “specially curated music and original programming” will be presented with the aim of introducing audiences to original content recorded at the new Sonos radio studio in New York. Signature stations dedicated to specific genres or moods, or crafted by high-profile artists populate the Sonos Stations tab. Under the aptly titled Local tab, transmissions for your zip code will be available.
Relying on partners like iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Napster, and more for assistance in selecting and creating these stations, Sonos Radio presents new and preexisting content “in a simple, elegant way,” says Sonos CEO Patrick Spence in a statement, “by giving customers the freedom to use the services of their choice.” There’s more to come too, as Spence says, “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 most prominent part of Sonos Radio’s release is the brand’s ad-free radio station, Sonos Sound System. Featuring a range of music selected by Sonos staff, musicians and DJs, the signature station aims to entertain with access to rare acts. Artist-hosted radio hours will broadcast on Wednesdays, providing “music and commentary about inspiring artists, releases, and the host’s latest work,” a statement explains. Separately, artist playlists will be regularly updated.
At launch, the Thom Yorke-selected In the Absence Thereof… will please fans with music the Radiohead frontman has recently discovered—music that, he says, “fascinates or moves me, what obsesses me, challenges me, opens new doors, reminds me of what I might have forgotten, is insanely complex or elegantly simple, violent, funny, messy, heavy or light.” Stations by Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes, David Byrne, and Jack White’s Third Man Records will debut in the coming weeks.
Images courtesy of Sonos
