What's the current state of music streaming services in 2019?

May 22, 2019 9:26 AM

I'm looking for a service that can algorithmically create and download playlists and automatically update when connected to WiFi.

Basically I want something like YouTube Music offline mixtape that doesn't suck. (ie only 100 songs, only updates if it feels like it, song choices based on "engagement" rather than likes and dislikes, extremely repetitive, very little new music discovery, etc.)

Google play music does a pretty good job creating playlists but doesn't download automatically.

Spotify doesn't seem to have algorithmic playlists in the same way as Google Play, and using radio stations or playlists is a bit lacking in both specificity and range compared to Google - I could live with this if the offline mode could be automated, which it can't as far as I can tell.

I haven't used any other services. I like Sirius but can't sign up for it because I drive a fleet car. Money is no object. Use case is heavy travel schedule (40% overnight and 2-4 hours a day on the road when not travelling - almost all of which has poor internet connectivity) and not having time in my schedule to manually decide on and download songs.

Thanks!

posted by mikek to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Spotify has lots of algorithmic playlists for subscribers. I get Discover Weekly and Release Radar that are new every week, and Daily Mix 1 through 4 that are algorithmic mixes loosely clumped by genre/style/mood. I like them a lot and discover new stuff all the time, even in more obscure genres.
posted by matildaben at 9:40 AM on May 22, 2019 [7 favorites]

You can get a stand-alone Sirius device. Your subscription doesn't need to be linked to your car.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:00 AM on May 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

Spotify does have many algorithmic playlists, and yes they download automatically for use offline when you are within wifi. You might need to open the app for them to download - not positive.

Discover weekly, spotifies weekly algorithmic playlist, is why many consumers (including myself) chose spotify over other services.
posted by bbqturtle at 10:02 AM on May 22, 2019

It's not 100% automated, but with Google Play Music you can create a "radio station" based on any single track, artist, or combination of tracks (playlist). Then you can save the radio station queue as a new playlist. Then you can download that new playlist to your device. Each step is very simple once you know how to do it.
posted by Umami Dearest at 11:33 AM on May 22, 2019

Spotify has awesome algorithmic playlists. In fact they're the reason most people I know choose Spotify over other services. I have them all download whenever they update and it seems to work well, although I also think it might only happen when the app is open.
posted by mosst at 12:59 PM on May 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

I still use and love Pandora. Any reason you don’t want to try it?
posted by suncages at 7:43 PM on May 22, 2019

Response by poster: On the off chance that anyone is still in the thread:

- Pandora is not available in Canada
- Google Play Music does not allow downloads of the "I'm Feeling Lucky" playlist, which is the closest to what I'm looking for.
- Spotify playlists don't seem to be influenced by my likes and dislikes, is there something else I need to be doing?
posted by mikek at 10:34 AM on May 25, 2019

The personalised Spotify playlists are under ‘Made for you’ on the Home or Library screens. I have 6 Daily Mixes, plus Discover Weekly and Release Radar which update each week.
posted by toamouse at 12:06 AM on May 26, 2019