I'm curious as to how well-curated / fine-tuned the algorithms that Apple employs are in determining the artists and songs that will get played when you create a station from a particular band.
For example, I just created a station off the band Squeeze. After the obligatory initial track of 'Tempted', it started in with 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' from Elton John. The *only* thing those two artists have in common is that they're both British. Also, Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic'. (Huh?!) It got Elvis Costello right, but then it proceeded to play Bruce Springsteen's 'Thunder Road'. Don't get me wrong: I like Bruce Springsteen, but not necessarily when I'm listening to a 'Squeeze' radio station.
Spotify beats them senseless with this stuff (default playlist off a band's station), as does Pandora.
Anybody have any insight as to why this is? How can I fix it? I don't want to 'dislike' Bruce Springsteen. I just don't want to hear the Boss when I'm slipping into the groovy, post punk era that was fore-fronted by Squeeze. I've no problem listening to bands on this station that cite Squeeze as an influence, but when they're pairing Bruce, Elton John, Van Morrison? That's just lazy. Embarrassingly so.
* I used Squeeze as an example because I just created the station. But the same holds true for any artist's station I create. It'd appear that minimal-to-zero consideration was given to the notion that genre-specific music critics be given a say as to how these algorithms spit out bands to match these artists.
For example, I just created a station off the band Squeeze. After the obligatory initial track of 'Tempted', it started in with 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' from Elton John. The *only* thing those two artists have in common is that they're both British. Also, Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic'. (Huh?!) It got Elvis Costello right, but then it proceeded to play Bruce Springsteen's 'Thunder Road'. Don't get me wrong: I like Bruce Springsteen, but not necessarily when I'm listening to a 'Squeeze' radio station.
Spotify beats them senseless with this stuff (default playlist off a band's station), as does Pandora.
Anybody have any insight as to why this is? How can I fix it? I don't want to 'dislike' Bruce Springsteen. I just don't want to hear the Boss when I'm slipping into the groovy, post punk era that was fore-fronted by Squeeze. I've no problem listening to bands on this station that cite Squeeze as an influence, but when they're pairing Bruce, Elton John, Van Morrison? That's just lazy. Embarrassingly so.
* I used Squeeze as an example because I just created the station. But the same holds true for any artist's station I create. It'd appear that minimal-to-zero consideration was given to the notion that genre-specific music critics be given a say as to how these algorithms spit out bands to match these artists.
