Rdio has long offered its US users the option to stream free music, but international users have had to shell out for one of the service's paid plans. That's changing today, as Rdio has just announced that nearly all of its users in other countries will be able to stream free music from the service as of today. Just like in the US, users can sign up without needing a credit card and will get a limited allowance of free streaming music to play on their desktop computers, either through the desktop app or the browser — unlimited music streaming and mobile app usage still costs extra, just as before.

Users will have access to this free music for six months, after which they'll need to sign up for one of Rdio's paid plans. While Rdio's only rolling this out to 14 countries, free music is nothing to overlook, particularly with the complexities of licensing across many different areas. Unfortunately, Rdio users in Brazil and Germany are out of luck — this free music deal doesn't apply to them. For everyone else, Rdio may now be a more compelling Spotify alternative than it was before.

Free Rdio streaming music will be available in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden