Apple is hiring a number of musical experts to program its iTunes Match stations, according to a report from CNET. The human touch on the music stations stands in stark contrast to the algorithm-driven methodology that is used by Pandora, the current leader in streaming music.
Pandora uses algorithms and user feedback to determine what songs should be played, whereas Apple will have humans programming its wide variety of stations.
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Apple has been staffing up and is looking to hire a range radio music programmers. These are people with deep knowledge in genres such Latin, metal and alternative music who will be responsible for selecting and promoting songs out of the thousands of new releases each month. Apple has also been trying to poach people from the labels themselves.
CNET also says Apple has been working with major music labels to promote "heat seekers", acts that labels believe are on the verge of breaking out, but haven't quite made it to that point.
Apple has always had a human touch on the iTunes Store, with editors reportedly choosing what albums and tracks to feature based on sales and personal preference, rather than a 'pay-to-play' system. The company uses a similar methodology on the App Store with its Staff Favorites and Editor's Choice sections. iTunes Radio also features celebrity Guest DJs, including Katy Perry and Jared Leto at launch, as well as exclusive content -- the Katy Perry station, for example, includes an unreleased track from her new album.
The ad-supported iTunes Radio is included free with iOS 7, launching tomorrow. Subscribers to Apple's $25/year iTunes Match service, however, will hear no ads and will be able to skip an unlimited number of songs.
Top Rated Comments
"iTunes Match Stations"?? Shouldn't that be iTunes Radio Stations?
I thought the same :confused:itunes match is brilliant when your OCD about naming ALL of your tracks in your library. Ive noticed when one song is off, i.e. like a character, punctuation mark or something else very small, it wont match. So really it makes you organize your library and who doesnt like that?! it effectively killed my iPod classic.
Cant wait for itunes radio. So glad theres a perk for us Match customers who early adopted. Shouldnt they of hired a programmer BEFORE the general launch tho? lol. #wheresyourheadburied :confused:
iTunes Match listens to the song to match it. The spelling has nothing to do with it. Otherwise I could just copy a song and rename it a song I want.
Genre expert?......
Remember this morning when they used to be called DJ's?
Yah good times...
I seeded a radio station with Fear of Domination (industrial metal band) and it proceeded to play Because I'm Evil (children's Halloween song, written and performed by the same person who wrote the music for the Cartoon Network show The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy - point being it wasn't even metal).