On Tuesday, wireless speaker company Sonos announced the rollout of Sonos Radio, a free and ad-supported streaming service that runs on all Sonos devices. The new Sonos Radio service will arrive by way of a software update later today and will include Artist Stations, Sonos Sound System, Genre Stations, as well as music, news, and sports from a growing list of over 60,000 world-wide radio stations.
Sonos Radio Artist Stations
Artist Stations, a flagship feature of Sonos Radio, leverage Sonos’s deep relationships and long-time involvement with members of the music-making community. These ad-free artist stations feature song selections from artists inspired by their own influences and obsessions. Radiohead’s Thom Yorke’s show, “In the Absence Thereof…”, premiers today. According to York:
“Here in a new form is that ever rolling compilation / office chart habit of mine of putting together what I have found recently that 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. Whatever has hit me over the head basically. It may be new or old or just dug up again. With all this time we have behind doors I hope this provides a welcome connection and escape…and perhaps stops the walls closing in quite so quick.”
Other notable Artist Stations coming soon include Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, David Byrne of Talking Heads, and Third Man Records. Additional artist stations will debut regularly.
Sonos Sound System
Sonos Sound System is a new, ad-free station created and hosted by Sonos out of their flagship store in New York City. The station will delivery a stream of music – some new, some rediscovered – as well as behind-the-scenes stories. Mixing it up every week, and released every Wednesday, guest artist radio hours will come from Angel Olsen, JPEGMAFIA, Phoebe Bridgers, Jeff Parker (Tortoise), Vagabon, and more.
Music, News, Sports, and Sonos Stations
The ad-supported portion of Sonos Radio brings together music, news, and sports content from long-time Sonos partners TuneIn and iHeartRadio, allowing listeners an easy way to access all this content. Additionally, there will be 30+ genre-focused stations available, with Rhapsody’s “Powered By Napster” fueling the catalog for all these Sonos Stations. Genre stations include Hit List, Reggae Roots, Cocktail Hour, Indie Gold, and more.
Discovery, Simplicity, Sonos
With Sonos Radio, Sonos aims to give us more to listen to without thinking about the specifics of what we want to hear. Not only does that make things a little easier for those indecisive moments, it also encourages discovery of new music to fill our homes, as well.
Sonos Stations will be available worldwide immediately. The Artist Stations and Sonos Sound System launch today in the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Australia, with support for additional countries following later this year.
One thought on “Sonos Radio, Free and Ad-Supported Streaming Service, Launches on All Sonos Devices Today”
Apparently the press release on Sonos Radio beat the required software update. Great coordination, not.
Apparently the press release on Sonos Radio beat the required software update. Great coordination, not.