# Rdio

[Canonical page](https://jeffd.org/work/rdio/)

I worked on Rdio's iPhone and iPad rewrite and maintained its Mac and Roku apps.

Role: Software Engineer

Period: 2012-01-01 to 2012-12-11

[Visit the 2012 press page](https://web.archive.org/web/20121203140529/http://www.rdio.com:80/press/)

![Rdio's Mac, Roku, iPad, and iPhone apps arranged on a blue background in my original portfolio composition.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-psd-header.png)

## Music, everywhere

Rdio brought your music collection, playlists, and friends' listening into the same place. You could listen on your phone, at your desk, or through the television.

I moved to San Francisco in 2011. Rdio was my first job out of university and a real learning experience.

## Rewriting the mobile apps

The original iOS app was built around [Three20](https://github.com/360/Three20), an Objective-C framework that came out of Facebook's iPhone app. I worked on the iPhone and iPad rewrite from the beginning.

For version 2.0, we rebuilt the apps in C# using Xamarin's MonoTouch, starting from our existing Windows Phone codebase. The mobile apps shared a [common C# core](https://github.com/rdio/vernacular), with native interfaces for each platform. MonoTouch compiled the iOS app into native code.

We shipped on [November 27, 2012](https://web.archive.org/web/20121201031146/http://blog.rdio.com:80/us/2012/11/the-new-rdio-for-ios-and-android-are-here.html). The new apps brought the lighter desktop design to mobile, with a sliding sidebar, a shared queue, and remote controls for playback on another device.

These screens are from [Federico Viticci's launch-day review](https://www.macstories.net/reviews/rdio-2-0/).

![Two Rdio 2.0 iPhone screens showing a Coldplay album, Now Playing, remote playback, and the Play Here Instead button.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-iphone-2012.jpg)

Rdio 2.0 for iPhone, November 2012. Screenshots by Federico Viticci, MacStories.

![Rdio 2.0 for iPad with the navigation sidebar, a playlist titled Best Songs from Scrubs, and playback controls along the bottom.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-ipad-2012.png)

Rdio 2.0 for iPad, November 2012. Screenshot by Federico Viticci, MacStories.

![Rdio 2.0 for iPad showing the Heavy Rotation album grid and playback controls in November 2012.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-ipad-heavy-rotation-2012.png)

Rdio for iPad, November 2012. Screenshot by Federico Viticci, MacStories.

## At home on the Mac

The Mac app was mostly a thin Objective-C wrapper around Rdio's web interface. Most of what you saw was the website running inside an app window. I worked on the native layer around it, including gestures and AppleScript support.

The [March 2012 redesign](https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/rdio-unveils-revamped-platform-at-sxsw-509800791.html) brought music collections and social activity together, with drag-and-drop playlist building and private playlists.

![Rdio for Mac in March 2012, with the Heavy Rotation album grid, navigation sidebar, native window controls, and playback bar.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-mac-2012.png)

Rdio for Mac, March 2012. Screenshot by Federico Viticci, MacStories.

## In the living room

I was the sole maintainer of Rdio's Roku app. It brought the same music service to a television and remote, alongside the phone and desktop apps I worked on.

The Roku app already existed when I joined. My role was to maintain it, add features, and fix problems. Working directly with customer support and listeners was part of that job.

![Rdio for Roku in February 2012, with Heavy Rotation, You and Your Network tabs, and an album carousel centered on Making Mirrors by Gotye.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-roku-2012-super-resolution.png)

Rdio for Roku, February 2012.

## Out in Times Square

I remember the Rdio billboards in Times Square. The campaign put silhouettes and album artwork across the buildings, under the words "Human powered music discovery."

The campaign was already [being photographed in November 2012](https://thisindustrythingofours.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/rdio-just-bought-a-times-square-billboard-and-you-didnt-even-notice/). This larger photograph comes from [Martin Grasser's archive of the campaign work at West](https://martingrasserdesign.com/rdio/).

![Rdio billboards in Times Square at night, combining colorful silhouettes with album artwork above the street.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-times-square.jpg)

Rdio in Times Square. Campaign imagery from Martin Grasser's archive of work at West.

## 4,323 hours later

I still miss Heavy Rotation and the social side of listening on Rdio. Seeing what friends were playing gave me new music to try, and during that year my tastes expanded a lot. I discovered so many artists. I haven't been able to replicate that experience with any other music service.

I kept listening after my year at Rdio. When the service was closing in 2015, its farewell page put together my listening history.

I had joined as a listener on November 21, 2011. The first song I played was Midnight City by M83. By the end, I had listened for 4,323 hours. I saved this recap on December 14, 2015.

![Jeff's Rdio farewell page. Joined November 21, 2011; first song Midnight City by M83; most-played album Strangeland by Keane; 4,323 total listening hours.](https://jeffd.org/media/work/rdio/rdio-farewell-2015.png)

My Rdio farewell page, saved December 14, 2015.