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Rhapsody and Napster leave Echo Nest following Spotify's takeover
Echo Nest must have developed cooties after Spotify bought it. Just days after Rdio said it would stop using the song recommendation provider to avoid sharing data with a rival, Rhapsody has announced that it's ramping down its own Echo Nest deal (which also applies to Napster) within several months. The company doesn't characterize the split as a defensive move, though. Instead, it's a chance to stand out. Rhapsody says it has "never been completely satisfied" with leaning on others for music personalization -- independence theoretically lets the company improve its advice to listeners. Whether or not things pan out as planned, it's clear that Echo Nest has lost at least some sway over the streaming radio industry.
Rdio plans to stop using Echo Nest, because Spotify bought it
Rdio's CEO, Anthony Bay, doesn't want Spotify knowing what it knows, and to that end, the music service is looking to break away from Echo Nest. However, the music intelligence company, recently bought by Spotify, is just one of several partners that Rdio taps for its music data, including Rovi. Spotify has previously said that it'll run Echo Nest as a "wholly-owned subsidiary" which should keep the data service relatively free from any meddling. In an interview with CNBC, Bay said: "We, probably like most people, have multiple sources of data that we use. So we will stop using that source of data [Echo Nest] and use other sources."
Spotify just bought the company that powers most online radio (update)
Spotify now owns The Echo Nest, better known as "the company that powers the vast majority of internet radio." That includes competing services like Twitter #Music, Rdio and more. But today's news doesn't necessarily mean that those services will lose support from Echo Nest's API, as Spotify's news announce today says, "The Echo Nest API will remain free and open to support its robust developer ecosystem." The Echo Nest is staying in Somerville, Mass., with employees assuredly making Revolutionary War jokes every now and again to their Spotify counterparts in England. It's not clear just yet what this will mean for Spotify Radio, but there's this one oblique line about the acquisition's potential impact: "The addition of The Echo Nest to Spotify will also strengthen Spotify's ability to help brands and partners build amazing music experiences for their audiences." Sure! Anyway, Spotify now owns the company that powers most of your internet radio. Take that as you will. Update: A Spotify rep gave us a few more details on the acquisition. First, Echo Nest is a "wholly owned subsidiary" of Spotify, and will operate relatively autonomously as such. Second, it looks like relationships with the competition may not last forever. "In the few cases where The Echo Nest does work with direct competitors we will work with them to understand these relationships and determine the next business steps. The Echo Nest will meet all contractual obligations to all customers," we were told.
Rdio rolling out custom recommendations based on what you play, who you follow
Rdio's been busy making deals, tweaking its player and adding functionality over the past few months, and now it's learning you what to listen to. The music streaming service is starting to drop hints about albums, stations and playlists -- making recommendations based on users' listening habits and who they've been following. These Echo Nest-powered suggestions are rolling out to browsers now, and the company's blog says iOS and Android will see the functionality soon. Now, if you start getting all kinds of admonishments for The Baha Men, you only have yourself to blame.
Deezer announces 'App Studio' for developers, 'App Centre' store and Echo Nest partnership
Deezer may not be the number one player in the music streaming game, but it's looking to gain ground on its biggest rival with the release of its "App Studio." In addition to an "App Centre" for showcasing software that integrates the service's catalogue, developers "can now place feature-rich apps inside Deezer.com." The company also hopes that a partnership with Echo Nest should make it easier for devs to use music in their projects. A modest 8 items will be available in the App Centre at launch, including the edjing app for mixing Deezer tracks on virtual decks, and the cheeky Spotizr app for importing your Spotify playlist. The French streaming outfit has also been busy improving its social aspects in Facebook and through updates to its Android and iOS apps. Check out the PR below for more info on recent news, details on how to get developing, and the full list of launch-day App Centre wares.
The Echo Nest teams with Twitter to integrate tweets into music apps
The Echo Nest, better known as the creature behind the Spotify Radio curtain, is teaming up with Twitter for a pilot program to integrate tweets into music apps of all ages and descriptions. The company has applied its artist extraction technology to Twitter's Verified Accounts in order to identify artists whose Twitter handles are now part of its Rosetta Stone service. The tie-up allows developers to include artists' Verified Account handles and tweets within music apps; for example, app developer can include tweets from a currently-playing artist alongside music, lyrics, blog posts, photos and other media. No word on what apps will be tucking the functionality into their next update, but you can dig for details in the PR after the break.
SpotON Radio app for iPhone out now
Spotify is the über-popular music service that lets you stream a huge library of music to your computer. You can also use the service on your iPhone with a premium subscription, letting you either sync and listen to your own music, or stream Spotify's tracks straight to your mobile device wherever you happen to be. The service just recently opened up an API for app developers, and a new app called SpotON Radio is one of the first to take full advantage of it. Unfortunately, it requires a premium Spotify subscription to work, but if you have one of those already, SpotON will let you listen to Internet radio stations, your own Spotify playlists, or any other music Spotify offers. The app uses "music intelligence" from Echo Nest for recommendations, and as you can see above, the display is clean and clear, which is always nice. If you already use the Spotify app on your iPhone, the choice of this one is really up to you -- that Echo Nest integration might offer some different music, and you may prefer the look and feel of this app compared to the official one. If you're interested (and you have the account to go with the app -- unless, like me, you just stick with the free Pandora service), SpotON Radio is free to download right now at launch. Update: A previous headline on this post stated that Spotify was behind this release. That was a mistake -- the app was produced using Spotify's API, but by a third-party developer.
Echo Nest is the man behind the Spotify Radio curtain
The Music Genome Project is in some serious trouble. The fancy algorithm behind Pandora is facing an increasingly popular competitor in the form of Echo Nest. The company's "music intelligence platform" and its accompanying API are already powering iHeartRadio and Nokia Music's Mix Radio. Now it's getting baked into the streaming media service du jour -- Spotify. Echo Nest's capable automated mix-making was already available to Spotify users via Echofi, but now the Swedish media company is using the tech as the basis for its updated radio service. Check out the PR after the break for a few not-so-subtle jabs at Pandora and its restrictions on free users.
Nokia Music joins the auto-playlist club, brings Pandora-like song-finding to Lumia 800
Smartphone owners have a lot of options for streaming music these days, and if a new challenger doesn't get off to a good start, it could easily get left in the dust. How is Nokia planning to keep up with the likes of Spotify and Pandora on its upcoming Windows Phone? By conscripting Echo Nest, the folks behind iHeartRadio and Spotify's own song-finding features, to pull the playlist picking strings behind Nokia Music's Mix Radio. Using a lightweight browser app, Mix Radio assesses your appetite for beats with a "taste profile" derived from your music library, and uses the data to generate personalized radio stations. The outfit is calling it the "most personalized global music service the world has ever seen." Nokia Music also offers 100 professionally programmed streaming stations and roughly 15 hours of downloadable programming. Echo Nest told us we'd hear more from Nokia itself soon, but if you just can't wait, hit the break for the song-picking puppet master's own press release.
KCRW app launches music discovery
KCRW is a Los Angeles-based public radio station with a history of introducing new artists to listeners. Keeping with this tradition, the radio station now has an iPad app called Music Mine that'll let you dig deep into their catalog and find new music. Similar to other music apps like Bandito, Music Mine was developed by the Public Radio Exchange and powered by Echo Nest's music intelligence engine. It'll display up to 100 new artists at a time and link them to KCRW's playlists. There's also videos, photos and more from each artist. If you want to just listen to music, you can fire up the app and tune into KCRW directly. The Music Mine app is available for free from the App Store.
Pandora's song-finding flair comes to Spotify, IHeartRadio via separate initiatives
Ruh roh. That's the sound emanating from Pandora's stock price, which has taken a serious beating in the wake of two separate announcements in the past week. First off, Clear Channel and Echo Nest have teamed up to produce a self-proclaimed "Pandora killer," with a new technology enabling IHeartRadio users to build out customized radio stations right on the app. As you'd expect, folks will be able to construct a custom playlist "based off the selection of a single seed song or artist, both online and on mobile phones," and it'll be featured when the app relaunches in beta form this week. In related news, Echo Nest has also concocted a Pandora-esque streaming radio feature for use in the Spotify app; it's a gem called Echofi, and if you surf down to the source link, you'll be able to give it a whirl. Type in a single artist, mash go, and watch as Spotify is launched and related music is spun until you decide you've heard enough. Here's to competition... right?
