Is iTunes Radio really as bad as I think?

[newdeal]

I tried making a station, I selected artists that I wanted, maybe about 10 of them. I then listened to my station and less than 20% of the songs played were actually those artists. Others were songs Apple thought that I may like. Being in Canada my only other option that is free seems to be Slacker Radio which I like and with Slacker it plays only the artists that I select as long as I select a certain number of artists. Does iTunes radio do this also and I need to select more artists or is it just really really terrible?

 

[squeakr]

I think this is the way this designed. I have experienced the same thing on iTunes Radio as well, but it doesn't bother me as that is how Pandora has done if for years as well in my experience.

 

[Ledgem]

iTunes Radio and Pandora are both regarded as music discovery services. The idea is that you give it a starting point and it attempts to provide you with similar music. You can then personalize and refine the "station" by indicating whether you like a song or not (thumbs up/down system in Pandora, "more like this" or "never play again" in iTunes Radio).

If your expectation was to create a playlist that is strictly limited to certain artists, albums, or genres, then iTunes Radio might be a bit of a disappointment (although this is arguably by design: if you want full control over your playlist, Apple would like for you to buy the songs). If you'd like to discover more music that is similar to what you already know, services like iTunes Radio and Pandora are absolutely delightful.

 

[newdeal]

Oh i see maybe it will grow on me the only issue is i listen to it in the car and its not safe to be playing with the more like this or dont play this again options while i drive

 

[Ledgem]

Oh i see maybe it will grow on me the only issue is i listen to it in the car and its not safe to be playing with the more like this or dont play this again options while i drive

Use Siri! I have a Bluetooth headset that works wonderfully with Siri in the car (Motorola HX550), and with a simple tap of the headset button you can activate and tell Siri to skip the song, add it to your wishlist, and I presume to play more like it or to never play it again (I have yet to use the last two commands with Siri so while I'm fairly certain that Siri accommodates them, I can't say for certain).

I've seen car stereo sets that had thumbs up/down buttons for Pandora compatibility, but I don't have one; being unable to control Pandora while I drive was always something of a downer. Being able to control iTunes Radio by voice through Siri is wonderful.

Additionally, remember that your adjustments to your station made on your computer carry over to your other devices, as long as they're all using the same iTunes account. If you listen to the station and fine-tune it on your computer, you'll have less tuning to do while on the road. This isn't much help if you don't use iTunes Radio while at your computer, of course.