Discord and TuneIn partner to bring live radio to the social platform

Audio streaming service TuneIn is teaming up with Discord to bring free live radio to the platform. This is TuneIn’s first collaboration with a social platform and one that is likely to help it reach a larger audience. Discord has a vast user base of 200 million, while TuneIn today touts 75 million monthly active users. 

The new integration, “TuneIn Radio & Podcasts,” includes TuneIn’s full library of 100,000 local AM/FM radio stations, news, podcasts, and sports content. The service also curated music collections specifically for Discord, including stations dedicated to genres such as K-pop, Lofi, and Indie. 

“The experience is highly curated for Discord,” Rich Stern, TuneIn CEO, told TechCrunch. He added that this is the first time an audio-only entertainment option has been available in Discord’s Activity app directory. 

In 2022, Discord launched Activities, a feature in voice channels where users can experience shared games and entertainment with friends, including YouTube’s “Watch Together” and activities like “Know What I Meme.” There are currently 23 Activities available.

Discord users can access the new TuneIn Activity on desktop, mobile devices and the web by clicking on the rocket icon in the voice channel. Users can then explore various listening experiences, having music in the background as they study or listening to a podcast as they hang out with friends. 

Stern said the company is “open to pursuing” more partnerships with other communication platforms.

“Our mission is to bring radio everywhere our listeners are, and that includes more partnerships with smart home devices, social platforms and automotive manufacturers to power the in-vehicle entertainment experience,” he told us. 

In recent years, TuneIn has partnered with several companies, such as Amazon Alexa-enabled devices, Fisker, Lucid, Rivian’s R1T electric trucks, Skullcandy, and more.