Apple hiring 'genre experts' to fine tune iTunes Radio programming
In the run-up to the launch of iTunes Radio, Apple is hiring on a number of genre experts in order to give its music streaming service a human touch that competitors might not easily be able to match.
Apple is looking for radio music programmers with deep knowledge of genres such as Latin, metal, and alternative, according to CNET. Those genre experts would be charged with selecting and promoting songs out of the thousands that the major and indie labels release each month.
Apple's postings seeking these genre experts call for "tastemakers" who are "passionate about discovering exciting new music and artists." Candidates are expected to have a strong understanding and background in how the music business operates, with five years experience and knowledge in retail, radio, A&R, editorial, record labels, and any other music related fields.
The genre experts would be responsible for programming featured stations within iTunes Radio. This element in particular could help distinguish Apple's streaming music service from its competition. Pandora uses algorithms and user feedback to figure out which song to play next. Apple, by contrast, will be relying at least in part on human tastemakers.
Apple has also been working with major music labels to determine which acts they believe are "heat seekers," or groups that are on the verge of making it big according to label data, but have not yet made the leap. Reportedly, some within the major labels are excited at the possibility of Apple remaking the radio landscape. Pandora has famously struggled with the labels over licensing fees, and Spotify is little different.
"We're hoping Apple shakes up the entire radio market," one aunnamed music executive said.
Apple, though, has been aggressively looking to monetize its streaming offer, courting advertisers in order to make good on the licensing deals it struck with the major labels ahead of revealing iTunes Radio.
Apple is looking for radio music programmers with deep knowledge of genres such as Latin, metal, and alternative, according to CNET. Those genre experts would be charged with selecting and promoting songs out of the thousands that the major and indie labels release each month.
Apple's postings seeking these genre experts call for "tastemakers" who are "passionate about discovering exciting new music and artists." Candidates are expected to have a strong understanding and background in how the music business operates, with five years experience and knowledge in retail, radio, A&R, editorial, record labels, and any other music related fields.
The genre experts would be responsible for programming featured stations within iTunes Radio. This element in particular could help distinguish Apple's streaming music service from its competition. Pandora uses algorithms and user feedback to figure out which song to play next. Apple, by contrast, will be relying at least in part on human tastemakers.
Apple has also been working with major music labels to determine which acts they believe are "heat seekers," or groups that are on the verge of making it big according to label data, but have not yet made the leap. Reportedly, some within the major labels are excited at the possibility of Apple remaking the radio landscape. Pandora has famously struggled with the labels over licensing fees, and Spotify is little different.
"We're hoping Apple shakes up the entire radio market," one aunnamed music executive said.
Apple, though, has been aggressively looking to monetize its streaming offer, courting advertisers in order to make good on the licensing deals it struck with the major labels ahead of revealing iTunes Radio.
Comments
Erm, those algorithms that Pandora uses are driven from data prepared by their "human tastemakers": see http://www.pandora.com/about/mgp
What you say is misleading, even though Apple's approach is slightly different in that it is less algorithmic and more heavily curated, Pandora is also "relying at least in part on human tastemakers".
I'm not quite sure how iTunes Radio works, or I don't want to believe that it works the way it does. It appears more purely station driven, rather than artist, track, and album driven. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Spotify, where I can search the catalogue and play only the specific artist, track, or album I was looking for.
With stations, I might discover new stuff, however, there are certain artists that I am specifically in interested in and certain albums from artists I already have in my collection that I'd like to hear and maybe purchase. The 90 second samples in iTunes is not quite enough.
I'm not quite sure how iTunes Radio works, or I don't want to believe that it works the way it does. It appears more purely station driven, rather than artist, track, and album driven.
I'm confused what you're trying to say. It works exactly the way Pandora does, minus the thumbs.
I don't really listen to the radio at all, but since I already have iTunes match and I'll be getting the ads free version of this for free, I guess that I will at least check it out. I'm happy with iTunes match now, by the way. I had a few complaints a while back, but those have been taken care of now.
Erm, those algorithms that Pandora uses are driven from data prepared by their "human tastemakers": see http://www.pandora.com/about/mgp
Hopefully, Apple's "human tastemakers" will do a better job than Pandora's algorithms (or whatever the hell they use). I stopped listening to Pandora specifically because their "music genome project" insisted, for example, that some band from the 60's went perfectly well with a band from the 80's because they both had keyboard driven melodies or some such thing.
Hire Chris Douridas for Underground/Alternative/New music, hire Henry Rollins for Punk music, hire Tom Schnabel for Latin music expertise (all DJs).
Man, what a cool job to have. I wish you didn't have to relocate to California to take it. Seems like the sort of thing that would work from anywhere.
Just listen to one of them on loop; problem solved.
Ha ha! Grammy voters need not apply.
On my phone the iTunes "Genius" was a complete moron. I've tried Pandora and Spotify and they have both done a terrible job of predicting what music I would like. In addition, Spotify plays the same 30-40 songs over and over, will occasionally add a new one, and plays songs that I have already tagged with a "thumbs down". Oh, and they compress the hell out of their commercial spots so that they are much louder than the music your are listening to, I guess in an attempt to damage everyone's ear drums. But, I digress.
Bottom line is that whether it's human "genre experts", "tastemakers" or algorithms, they will never get it right, not even close, at least not in my case. Here's why: Many artists have songs I love and also songs I can't stand. I listen to a wide range of music genres, but within some of those genres there is a very narrow window of what I like. Alogoriths and human "genre experts" apply objective rules (if A, then