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As someone who switched to Rdio from Spotify because the former has not terrible music discovery, this is unfortunate. Looks like I'll be switching again...it

As someone who switched to Rdio from Spotify because the former has not terrible music discovery, this is unfortunate. Looks like I'll be switching again...it would be nice to find a streaming service that was about music discovery rather than forcing the latest garbage down your throat. Although who knows, maybe Spotify's radio now plays more than 10 songs...

KingMob 11y ago
Yeah, Rdio's "radio" way much better than Spotify's. In general, I think their interface was better, too, though Spotify has lyrics and Rdio doesn't.
dgavey 11y ago
I second that, I have discovered more new artists, and new releases through Rdio than anywhere else. Hopefully their competition does better with discovery in the future.
vlunkr 11y ago
Spotify now has a playlist called discover weekly or something that is songs they pick for you once a week, and in my experience it's actually pretty good. I've discovered several artists that way. And I also found Spotify radio to be awful.
- infecto 11y ago
  I love Discover Weekly. It is the one thing that has really stood out to me. I have found a lot of songs/artists that I love using this service.
  - colmvp 11y ago
    Did they develop this in-house or acquire a technology for this?
    - bananaoomarang 11y ago
      Sounds like it was in house: http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/30/9416579/spotify-discover-weekly-online-music-curation-interview http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/30/9416579/spotify-discover-w...
- thirdsun 11y ago
  Frankly, that doesn't sound appealing at all as a discovery tool - unless I know I like the curator's taste, I'm probably not interested in his recommendations. That's why the heavy rotation section in rdio that only showed popular music among your friends (which you should select carefully!) was so useful - if you had a circle of great tastemakers.
  - andrewingram 11y ago
    It's generated algorithmically based on your recent-ish listening habits combined with a bit of fairy dust, I believe they acquired a company that specialised in it. It's pretty good at recommending songs to me that are similar to what i've been listening to, along with a few curveballs that encourage me to branch out, or throwbacks to older habits.
    - thirdsun 11y ago
      Very likely EchoNest. Used in rdio as well. And while these algorithms work up to a degree at some point it's not useful anymore - especially if your taste is very specific and not dependent on obvious factors like genre or mood (I know, Echonest takes a lot more properties into account). These days I see what feels like the same recommendations everywhere. Rdio solved this problem with good old fashioned human curation - and in contrast to Apple Music it's based on humans I want to follow, not some show host or editor that has to appeal to large crowds.
    - vlunkr 11y ago
      Right, I didn't word that very well. It's a computer generating the playlist, not a curator.
ssivark 11y ago
A shout out for 8tracks! I can search among human-curated playlists by themes/tags, and I often discover songs I like. 8tracks does the discovery part wonderfully for me. I mostly care more about the mood of the music rather than the exact songs, and that use-case is also served perfectly.
- shavenwarthog2 11y ago
  <3 8tracks. In practice, my girlfriend and I play 8tracks sets at home; we very commonly listen to the same set over and over. Very commonly I'll find an artist I like with 8tracks, then switch to Rdio to listen to the rest of their catalog. RIP Rdio, you were awesome!
collias 11y ago
If you're in US/Canada, give Slacker Radio a shot. They do radio "stations" better than anyone. Plus on-demand if you feel like just listening to an album or something.
subliminalzen 11y ago
Definitely check out Deezer: http://deezer.com http://deezer.com. I've been using it for years. Good selection, fast downloads, gift cards - it's probably got everything you need.
rjbrock 11y ago
Spotify has a habit of replaying songs that I have already thumbs downed as well as other songs by that same artist.

KingMob 11y ago

Yeah, Rdio's "radio" way much better than Spotify's. In general, I think their interface was better, too, though Spotify has lyrics and Rdio doesn't.

dgavey 11y ago

I second that, I have discovered more new artists, and new releases through Rdio than anywhere else. Hopefully their competition does better with discovery in the future.

vlunkr 11y ago

Spotify now has a playlist called discover weekly or something that is songs they pick for you once a week, and in my experience it's actually pretty good. I've discovered several artists that way. And I also found Spotify radio to be awful.

infecto 11y ago
I love Discover Weekly. It is the one thing that has really stood out to me. I have found a lot of songs/artists that I love using this service.
- colmvp 11y ago
  Did they develop this in-house or acquire a technology for this?
  - bananaoomarang 11y ago
    Sounds like it was in house: http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/30/9416579/spotify-discover-weekly-online-music-curation-interview http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/30/9416579/spotify-discover-w...
thirdsun 11y ago
Frankly, that doesn't sound appealing at all as a discovery tool - unless I know I like the curator's taste, I'm probably not interested in his recommendations. That's why the heavy rotation section in rdio that only showed popular music among your friends (which you should select carefully!) was so useful - if you had a circle of great tastemakers.
- andrewingram 11y ago
  It's generated algorithmically based on your recent-ish listening habits combined with a bit of fairy dust, I believe they acquired a company that specialised in it. It's pretty good at recommending songs to me that are similar to what i've been listening to, along with a few curveballs that encourage me to branch out, or throwbacks to older habits.
  - thirdsun 11y ago
    Very likely EchoNest. Used in rdio as well. And while these algorithms work up to a degree at some point it's not useful anymore - especially if your taste is very specific and not dependent on obvious factors like genre or mood (I know, Echonest takes a lot more properties into account). These days I see what feels like the same recommendations everywhere. Rdio solved this problem with good old fashioned human curation - and in contrast to Apple Music it's based on humans I want to follow, not some show host or editor that has to appeal to large crowds.
  - vlunkr 11y ago
    Right, I didn't word that very well. It's a computer generating the playlist, not a curator.

ssivark 11y ago

A shout out for 8tracks! I can search among human-curated playlists by themes/tags, and I often discover songs I like. 8tracks does the discovery part wonderfully for me. I mostly care more about the mood of the music rather than the exact songs, and that use-case is also served perfectly.

shavenwarthog2 11y ago
<3 8tracks. In practice, my girlfriend and I play 8tracks sets at home; we very commonly listen to the same set over and over. Very commonly I'll find an artist I like with 8tracks, then switch to Rdio to listen to the rest of their catalog. RIP Rdio, you were awesome!

collias 11y ago

If you're in US/Canada, give Slacker Radio a shot. They do radio "stations" better than anyone. Plus on-demand if you feel like just listening to an album or something.

subliminalzen 11y ago

Definitely check out Deezer: http://deezer.com http://deezer.com. I've been using it for years. Good selection, fast downloads, gift cards - it's probably got everything you need.

rjbrock 11y ago

Spotify has a habit of replaying songs that I have already thumbs downed as well as other songs by that same artist.