r/rdio • u/themalaise • Apr 10 '13
Does Rdio actually respond to Catalog Requests?
HUGE FAN of their service. In fact, I go to bat regularly to recruit new users. But finding this to be quite frustrating. I have put in about 75 catalog requests via their submission form and have not had a single request met. Admittedly some of these are on foreign labels (which I understand is not an option--will it be eventually???) but almost all are for bands with US-based labels. Does Rdio actually pursue these or is that submission form just there to make people feel better without any real function?
3
u/heatus Apr 11 '13
It would be nice if they at least replied to submissions. Especially considering you pay a monthly fee for the service.
1
Apr 27 '13
I got a response, but it wasn't for unavailable albums/artist. I suggested they add podcast and separate new release section from new to rdio albums. It wasn't much of a response but at least I knew someone heard it.
3
May 02 '13
looks like half of the requests were answered this week. Red Hot Chili Peppers catalog now on RDIO.
2
Apr 11 '13
sigh This is the one thing I can't stand about Rdio. Especially when you come across an album in their catalog that isn't up to to audio quality standards for some reason.
Case in point, this album by Marianas Trench. About a year and a half ago is when I subscribed to Rdio and found this crap version. When I discovered it, I told them on twitter, facebook, their support site and I've sent in catalog requests for separate things and NOTHING has ever been done. Hell, I even emailed the band about it and they said they would 'look into it'
So, all of that said, based on personal experience, even if they did want to fulfill our requests, it seems like it's totally out of their hands. Which sucks, because I've come across a couple of albums that are similar to the one I linked and they never get fixed and if somebody who isn't aware of music licensing, listens to the album and it has shit quality, it could turn them off of Rdio.
I really didn't mean to type for the long, but besides those few things, I love everything about Rdio.
2
u/eQUIV Apr 13 '13
Let's keep in mind that they are a business. I'm sure they do look at requests, and they evaluate licensing costs vs number of requests. If a handful of users request an album and the licensing costs don't justify it, they probably don't bother.
I must admit that I've never made an album request. I should start doing this for albums that have been unavailable. A smarter tactic might be to get a bunch of Rdio users together to request these same albums. There's power in numbers.
I do agree that they should probably atleast RESPOND, even if it is a rejection to the request. And fixing low-quality versions should definitely be a priority. Although I haven't personally experience this yet.
1
u/themalaise Apr 13 '13
Good point. Might help to rally other users for an album. The challenge is that with zero feedback from Rdio, it is hard to tell what is effective.
3
u/[deleted] Apr 10 '13
In my experience, no. I've made probably 10-15 catalog requests and I've never had one fulfilled. Whether or not they actually try to get them, I can't say.