One of the leading streaming music subscription sites, Rdio.com, has recently started what it calls an Artist Program, which pays musical artists $10 for every new subscriber each participating artist or group refers to Rdio.

Like Spotify, Rdio subscribers—who pay $5-$10 per month—can listen to all the songs and albums on the site’s vast music catalog, and pay for content they want to download to their computer or mobile device. While the subscription price is very affordable for subscribers, it’s not clear how much of Rdio’s revenue goes to the artists. But Rdio sees its Rdio Artist Program as a way of supporting the artistic community and music industry as a whole.

Rdio says that artists like Scissors Sisters, Snoop Lion (aka Snoop Dogg), Chromeo, A-Trak and Brendan Benson, are among the first to set up official pages. These pages not only display the music of the artists, but also the music they enjoy and listen to, including Playlists, History, Followers, and Following and Reviews.

When joining the Rdio program, artists get instant access to affiliate tracking, a complimentary Rdio subscription, as well as $10 for each new subscriber who signs up through the traceable Rdio links via an artist page. Artists can also customize their pages with photos, Twitter connection, view and track real-time stats through their account, and share music with their fans.

Rdio’s founder Janus Friis said that, “There is no art without artist,” and that “a business that doesn’t reward its most important contributors is a business that has to change.”

Source: Mashable