Mainstream music fans don’t want to constantly choose what
to listen to, so streaming services are embracing radio. According to Josh
Constantine at telecrunch.com, the latest is Rdio, whose new Friend FM turns
your friends’ listening activity and social connections into non-stop streams.
It’s also added a traditional Pandora-style You FM station thanks to data from
The Echo Nest. Together they could let you productively leave Rdio on in the
background.
While Pandora popularized adaptive online radio, it’s
becoming an essential feature for all music services. Spotify added radio at
the end of 2011, and Apple is gearing up to launch iTunes Radio alongside iOS 7
this fall.
Usually, adaptive radio stations build themselves off of
your listening habits. That includes what you played, thumbs up or downed, and
saved. This is how Rdio’s new You FM works, though it also factors in your
Facebook Likes and Twitter Follows.
Rdio’s overhaul of Stations also lets your tune into any of
yours friends’ You FM stations. Friend FM could get you out of your comfort
zone and stumbling upon new artists you can then cue up on-demand. Maria FM
could score me some new yoga music, while Alex FM would rock my bones with the
latest new metal. Rdio says “It’s like flipping on the car radio and knowing
every DJ.”
The cross-platform streaming service has also built a more
immersive player for Stations, a better navigation system, Stations for genres,
and an Auto-Play radio based on the last song or artist you were last listening
to.
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