1y ago

Spotify re-invented the radio

Can't even seek through songs.

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714 comments

I remember when it was a literal radio feature in Spotify and it was this but the algorithm was decent and you could curate different stations.
- Why did they get rid of Spotify Stations? Like I'm about to subscribe to Pandora to get this back but 128kbps.
  
  They got rid of spotify stations but you can make a "radio" playlist from any song or other playing. Not as good still but better than nothing I guess
  
  Nah I'm not talking about stations, I'm talking about radio. It was like, the main feature of Spotify for a while.
  The "radio" you can make nowadays isn't a radio at all, it's a static playlist and a lot of the times the playlist it generates is just 50% ripped from my listening history, resulting in artist bubbles that for me have proven impossible to escape. Same deal for the music they generate when a playlist ends. A bunch of playlists paired with an algorithm that doesn't accept feedback simply cannot fill the role that was the original Spotify radio.
  
  there are also like a billion playlist mixes of different genre currated just for you. kinda off the beaten path though dont recall what you look up to find them
  
  Because money.
  
  Don't they get money if I, a premium subscriber, uses radio?
  
  Probably less money than if they force people to listen to specific artists.
  
  Never heard of stations before today, wish I got a chance to try it though. Looks like it came out just after they removed the radio feature from the main app. Damn...
  I tried Pandora, I think for a year or two. It's alright but after a while I started falling into the same artist bubbles I experienced with post-radio Spotify. It's owned by Sirius which isn't doing so well (and I can't stand their marketing practices) so I can't imagine they've got as much resources to devote as Spotify. The app is a little buggy and rudimentary but not completely lacking polish.
  The behavior when your Internet drops out (like if you happen to go driving out in the sticks) leaves a lot to be desired, but you can save playlists so it's not a huge deal. There's this one live version of a song that just does not want to stay deleted from my playlist. Oh, and you can't use it outside of North America without a VPN. It's little stuff, it's not experience-breaking for the most part.
  I do like that you switch between different algorithms for a radio station. Something like "fan favorites", "artist only", "deep cuts", maybe one or two more options. It's overall not a bad alternative, the bad parts obviously stick in my head better than the good but I'd probably still be using it weren't for my European friends all using Spotify and sharing songs/playlists with me like that.

714 comments