Automakers building infotainment systems on Harman's software platform can now pick Stingray Music+ off the shelf. Stingray announced Tuesday that its audio app is now offered through Harman's Ready Link Marketplace, a catalog of third-party apps and services for connected vehicles.
Harman, a Samsung Electronics subsidiary, built the marketplace so car makers can add outside apps without developing each one themselves. Until now, Stingray has reached vehicles mainly through direct deals with individual manufacturers, including co-branded versions of the app that carry the automaker's own name. Stingray said those co-branded versions are already in vehicles from several manufacturers, with more integrations in development.
The app combines more than 100 curated music channels, refreshed weekly and with regional selections, with access to more than 150,000 radio stations worldwide and a catalog of about 4 million podcasts. Stingray said automakers can run it with advertising or as a commercial-free music service.
For broadcasters, it is another sign of how the dashboard is being assembled: an automaker choosing from a menu of apps that place streamed radio alongside curated music and podcasts. Which aggregators carry a station's stream, and how it shows up in those apps, increasingly shapes how listeners find it in the car.
"We want to revolutionize how people consume media on the road, giving them instant, intuitive access to the music, talk radio, and podcasts that make every drive more enjoyable," said Jim Riley, president of Stingray Music USA. Thomas Braunmiller, Harman's vice president of software products, said the app gives automotive partners "a flexible new way to enrich the in-vehicle experience."
The companies did not disclose financial terms or name any automakers that plan to add the app through the marketplace.