How to Get the Best Recommendations From Apple Music, Spotify, and More
With the rise of music streaming services, finding new music has never been easier – so why do I keep listening to the same three albums in turn?
Part of the problem is that Apple Music’s recommendation algorithm (also known as the For You tab) isn’t very good. Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlists are much better, but they’re not perfect either; it’s the same with other services like Pandora and Google Play Music.
If you’re struggling to find new music and the app you choose isn’t helping, don’t give up. There are some easy ways to improve these guidelines. Here’s how to do it.
Apple Music
You might think that simply clicking “Like” or “Dislike” on songs in Apple Music would be enough to guide the app’s recommendation algorithm, but that doesn’t do much. This is because Apple keeps track of all the music it thinks you enjoy, even the music you haven’t listened to in years.
Andrew Orr from Mac Observer recently came up with how to fix Apple Music section for you. When you first sign up, Apple Music asks for a list of artists and genres that you like. After that, every time you add a new artist to your library, it is also added to this list. This way, all the old music you liked is still in line with Apple’s guidelines.
The solution is simple. Just open the app and click on the head-shaped icon (this could also be your image) in the upper right corner. Then click Find More Artists and Curators. From here, you can remove any artists you no longer like, which should improve your recommendations in the future.
If you are sharing your Apple Music account, for example if you have a HomePod that multiple people use, you can also turn off Listening History. This way, Apple won’t consider your roommate’s shoddy musical taste in your recommendations. To disable this feature, open the iOS Settings app. Then go to the “Music” section, select “Listening history” and turn it off.
Spotify
Spotify Discover Weekly is usually quite lucrative, but if you have bad playlists, there are a few different things you can do.
The streaming service keeps track of every song you miss and notes that you don’t like it. So make sure you quickly skip all the annoying songs, and try not to miss a track you like just because you are not in the mood to listen to it.
You can also try adding the music you want to hear more to your playlist, which should give Spotify’s algorithm a little more guidance. As an added bonus, if you’re creating a playlist for a specific genre or style, the streaming service will add some additional guidelines at the bottom of the playlist that match your theme.
Finally, if you’re trying to show Spotify that you like a new genre, don’t give up in a few hours. The app will be able to register your new interests within a day or two. Anything less, and Spotify just assumes you’ve let someone else take over your account.
Google Play Music
Google’s huge investment in machine learning should mean great recommendations on Google Play Music, but that isn’t always the case. If you’re not getting it right, go to the app’s settings menu, tap General, and then Improve your recommendations. From here, Google will ask a few questions to better understand your musical interests.
If that doesn’t work, Google Play Music offers a nuclear option as well. Return to the main settings page and select “Delete recommendation history”. This will clear all of your data and you can start over to show Google what kind of music you really want to listen to.
Pandora
Pandora was one of the first companies to offer algorithm-based music offerings, and the internet radio service continues to thrive . However, if you’ve ever used Pandora, you know how easy it is to ruin a good radio station by putting your thumb up or down on the wrong songs.
It turns out that the trick is not to press the thumbs up button at all. This is because a positive response will tell Pandora to play more of the same, which will quickly diminish the variety of music you hear on that station. Instead, try to record songs you don’t like, this will nudge the service to introduce you to new genres and artists.