Tech News: Rdio, Vevo

San Francisco-based Rdio has embraced the “freemium” model. The free “Stations-first” option offers music from numerous genres and artists. The new design offers users playlists based on their tastes, tempting consumers with free music and then selling them more features via subscription.

There are also streams curated by Rdio staffers and artist “tastemakers.” The new model will aid in Rdio’s competition with services including Beats Music and Google’s Play Music All Access.

Cumulus’ NASH should be fully integrated with Rdio by next year, with a streaming station, on-demand content and exclusive interviews for new releases. This comes in exchange for a 15 percent stake in the company, with options to increase to 20 percent. “We expect Rdio to become the digital platform for all of our local brands and national syndicated content distributed through WestwoodOne,” said Cumulus’ Lew Dickey.

• • •

Vevo has named David Rice as the company’s Chief Product Officer. Rice previously worked at Microsoft, Yahoo!, and CBS Interactive, where he oversaw digital initiatives, including CBS’ video game news sites and managing Hotmail and Messenger products for Microsoft.

“Bringing our first Chief Product Officer on board is an important milestone for Vevo,” said company chief Rio Caraeff. “David is a seasoned product management leader with more than 15 years spent working at the intersection of media and the web at a range of start-ups as well as global, established technology driven companies. With David’s leadership, Vevo is well-positioned to grow our product operations as we approach our five year anniversary later this year.”