The move to streaming music has overwhelmed us with too many choices to count. While we can find the entire back catalogue of an artist in seconds, finding one we actually like can be a bit harder.
But a new music-focused social network from streaming media pioneer Rhapsody matches up real people with similar tastes to help them find new favorites.
The Listener Network connects Rhapsody users with its Music Match tool, which determines “music compatibility with other listeners around the globe.”
“Once you measure your match percentage with any listener, we’ll also generate a unique Matched Playlist of new songs based on your overlapping tastes,” a blog post announcing the new network says.
Matches are made thanks to the new Music Intelligence Engine developed by Rhapsody, which helps measure music compatibility by examining musical tastes. The service matches users up — not just with real-world friends — but with people around the world.
That means if you’re a fan of a Celine Dion fan in Cleveland, you can connect with other lovers of the Canadian singer in Cape Town or Cairo or Canberra.
Some services have turned to algorithms to solve the problem, like Spotify’s Discover Weekly. Pandora, meanwhile, was founded to use algorithms to find the songs you like, serving you up better songs in the future. But Rhapsody’s social network adds a human touch to avoid getting stuck in a recommendation rut that a purely algorithmic approach may face.
The Listener Network is available to Rhapsody and Napster subscribers through Rhapsody’s iOS and Android apps.
