Most music streaming services are probably trying to figure out how to become the next Spotify or Apple Music. Competition among the “others” has been pretty tough with so many players trying to be the next big thing in the market. iHeart is trying to make its mark by giving free and paid users their weekly dose of curated music called Your Weekly Mixtape. And if it sounds a bit similar to Spotify’s Discover Weekly, well it is kinda the same, although iHeart would like to say that there is a major difference between the two.
According to iHeart’s Chief Product Officer Chris Williams, their Weekly Mixtape is meant to be like a good friend giving you a mixed tape of all the favorite songs that you want to jam out too (if you’re probably too busy to curate your own playlist of favorite songs). The difference is that Spotify’s Discover Weekly is more about discovering new music and new artists based on your listening habits. iHeart’s personalized playlist is all about letting you listen to the songs you already know and love, just like listening to your favorite radio station that you know will play these songs,
The algorithm for Your Weekly Mixtape is based on the stations and artists that you regularly listen to on the service. You can also use the thumbs up feature to influence the songs that will be included in your playlist. It will also take its cue from your listening habits, like if you listen to certain songs over and over or if you like discovering new music by constantly listening to new artists and new songs.
Every Monday, iHeart will refresh your mixtape with around 30-75 songs. Just click on the For You tab on the web page version or if you’re listening on your Android device, go to the Your Library section to see Your Weekly Mixtape. Just like the other music streaming services, the more you use it, the better chances that it will give you the songs that you actually like.
The differences among services like Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play Music, Pandora, iHeart, etc are sometimes too little and so it really is a matter of choosing the interface you like most or the one that you’re used to already or the one that’’s most convenient for you. If iHeart is your jam, you can start enjoying this new feature as it rolls out to free and paid users.
SOURCE: iHeart
