Sonos launched its Sonos Radio streaming radio offering earlier this year, letting owners of Sonos equipment listen to the company’s premier Sonos Sound System station, artist-curated and genre-specific stations for free in the Sonos app.
Today, the company is announcing an expansion of the service into new countries, a feature collaboration with beloved entertainer Dolly Parton, new stations and a HD upgrade available for a monthly subscription.
Sonos Radio HD launches in the US and UK
First things first – the high definition service carries with it a monthly subscription. With your subscription comes CD quality audio (16-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC) versions of all the existing stations, plus the ability to skip songs you don’t like, and repeat those that you do. It’s also an ad-free experience, although “global broadcast stations” are exempted.
Sonos is adding some new stations exclusive to the HD offering, including one curated by Dolly Parton called Songteller Radio with a promise of more artist-curated stations coming soon.
There’s also additional genre stations focusing on specific music scenes and styles, stations designed to promote mindfulness, productivity and relaxtion, and a range of sleep stations
Sonos Radio HD is launching in the US and UK today. It’ll cost customers in those territories $7.99/£7.99 per month with a 30-day free trial. We don’t have any information about an Australian launch just yet, but we can assume it’s coming.
Sonos Radio expands availability and content
Sonos’ existing free (ad-supported) Radio product continues to expand into new countries, coming online today in Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium – and there’s some new content coming our way on the free tier.
There’s two new holiday stations, Holidaze and Holiday Concerto, coming to the free tier. While Sonos Radio HD gets the Songteller Radio station, we’ll be getting a one-hour Holly Dolly Christmas Special, focusing on Dolly Parton’s 2020 Christmas album debuting on Holidaze.
Some new regional genres are also debuting, with stations British Beats and Bars, UK Session Sounds, French Connection, The Netherlands’ Radio à Gogo, German Zeitgeist and Hip-Hop Stammtisch.
Finally, Sonos Sound System will be adding new Radio Hour shows with Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Erykah Badu, A$AP Ferg and Laurie Anderson.
I’ve been listening to Sonos Radio quite a bit while working from home over the course of 2020. I’ve mostly stuck to the main Sound System station, and found it a pretty eclectic mix of genres and artists when I’m not sure what I want to listen to and just want some background audio. I’m not sure whether I make enough use of it to really justify a monthly outlay for the new HD offering, but I’m certainly interested to take it for a spin on the 30 day trial when it comes to Australia.
