Deezer brings Other Voices to music-streaming masses

28 Nov 2012

Worldwide music-streaming service Deezer has launched a new radio channel dedicated to the popular music television series, Other Voices, bringing recordings from the show to millions of users.

Deezer’s music-streaming service claims 26m users in 160 countries, 2m of whom are subscribers. While subscribers can access Deezer’s catalogue of 20m tracks on demand, the service also provides free-to-listen radio channels for non-subscribers.

The latest channel to be added for Deezer UK & Ireland comes from a streaming partnership with music television series Other Voices. The show, which has been running on RTÉ Two for about a decade, features performances recorded each December in the 200-year-old St James’ Church in Dingle, Co Kerry, and other locations about the town.

Radio Other Voices on Deezer will give users free access to a never-ending stream of selected recordings from the series, as well as a few artists on the show creators’ ultimate wish list. The radio channel will also stream recordings from the upcoming series of Other Voices, which is set to take place not just in Dingle, but also in Derry and London. Recording begins in Kerry this weekend, moving on to Derry in February and hitting London for the first time in April.

Artists scheduled to perform include Villagers, Paul Buchanan, Aaron Dessner from The National, Local Natives, SOAK, The Unthanks, Neil Hannon, Jesca Hoop, Django Django and Marina and the Diamonds, among others.

Like all of Deezer’s radio channels – including Radio On The Record, which launched with The Irish Times and Jim Carroll earlier this month – Radio Other Voices is free to access via the website or mobile app with no Deezer log-in required. Registered users, and those availing of a free trial, will be able to search for these tracks and listen to them on-demand.

Deezer, which sees music discovery as a core service and provides users with specially curated recommendations, announced an investment of US$130m in funding this October, promising free services tied in with local music scenes in its wake.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com