Discord and TuneIn have joined forces to bring free live radio to the social platform. Image from Alexander Shatov on Unsplash
With Discord's 200 million user base and TuneIn's 75 million monthly active users, both have united to introduce free live radio to the social platform. The new feature, TuneIn Radio & Podcasts, grants access to 100,000 local AM/FM radio stations, news, podcasts, and sports content.
Discord and TuneIn Revolutionizing Social Audio Entertainment
Discord and TuneIn have joined forces to introduce live radio to the social platform. TuneIn, known for its audio streaming service, is venturing into social collaboration for the first time, aiming to expand its reach to a broader audience.
With Discord boasting a massive user base of 200 million and TuneIn having 75 million monthly active users, this partnership holds promise for both platforms.
TuneIn Radio & Podcasts offers access to TuneIn's extensive collection of 100,000 local AM/FM radio stations, news, podcasts, and sports content.
In an interview with TechCrunch, TuneIn CEO Rich Stern said this curated experience is designed specifically for Discord users. He noted that it marks the debut of an audio-only entertainment feature within Discord's Activity app directory.
Additionally, it features specially curated music selections tailored for Discord users, covering genres like K-pop, Lofi, and Indie. Stern conveyed the company's willingness to explore additional partnerships with other communication platforms.
He explained that they aim to ensure radio accessibility across various platforms, including smart home devices, social platforms, and automotive manufacturers, to enhance the in-vehicle entertainment experience.
In the past few years, TuneIn has collaborated with various companies, extending its reach to platforms like Amazon Alexa-enabled devices, Fisker, Lucid, Rivian's R1T electric trucks, and Skullcandy.
During the pandemic, Anjney Midha, Discord's VP of Platform Ecosystem, highlighted how synchronous activities became common. However, a new trend emerges as people place more importance on online connections. Instead of long synchronous sessions, users now switch between synchronous and asynchronous interactions more frequently.
In 2022, Discord introduced Activities, enabling users to enjoy shared games and entertainment within voice channels alongside friends. The updates are designed to enrich the versatility of this community-centric app, offering users more ways to tailor their experience within the servers where they gather to discuss games and interests or follow their favorite creators.
These activities include YouTube's "Watch Together" and features like "Know What I Meme." Presently, there are 23 Activities accessible to users. This move underscores Discord's commitment to continually evolving and enhancing its platform to meet the diverse needs of its user base.
A few years ago, an update allowed users to use Discord in the background on their SteamOS devices while playing games. They could also run other background music apps like Spotify and YouTube Music simultaneously without issues. These smooth operations were possible thanks to Valve's optimizations within their SteamOS environment.
