Starting up Apple Music for the first time, you’re asked to share your favorites with the new music streaming service, from genres to bands and artists.
It’s a system that’s strikingly similar to the way that Beats Music handled it before Apple Music took over, but one thing that some might have noticed after finishing up the setup process: The “For You” section might be a good start, but there’s still some room for improvement when it comes to picking and choosing the best music available in that section. Apple sees the “For You” area of Apple Music the personal curation spot, the music that’s geared to exactly your tastes.
And it does need some pruning.
That’s what the “Likes” system (Apple will note your “First Love” the first time you like a song or album) is for. Jim Dalrymple of The Loop had some concerns regarding the liking system in Apple Music, and so he contacted the company and broke down just how it works, and what users should expect to see when they start liking songs.
First and foremost, Apple’s radio stations are indeed all handpicked songs, and it’s meant to make the best possible flow between the song that’s playing and the song that’s coming up next. As Dalrymple puts it, Apple doesn’t want you to have to skip songs so often, and the company is banking on human curation as a means to make that happen less often. The way to do that is through the heart icon that’s on the left of the music controls. Tapping on the heart icon while listening to one of Apple’s radio stations won’t actually do anything to change that station, as the songs are already chosen by humans.
However, tapping on that heart will indeed add more content, or take some away, or otherwise tune up the For You section, and attempt to add more songs and artists that you might want to listen to, based on your input from the radio station. What’s more, the For You section will also build out based on the information that a user adds to their My Music, and will also better curate based on the songs that a user listens to all the way through.
It’s worth noting here that skipping a track doesn’t affect the curation, though, as there are many reasons why someone might skip a song, other than simply not liking it.
There’s an option within the iOS version of Apple Music (it doesn’t appear to be available in iTunes) that will further aid in building the best possible For You section for individuals. If a user sees an album within the section that they don’t think fits, or that they simply don’t want there, they can tap-and-hold it, which will bring up an option that reads “I Don’t Like This Suggestion.” This gives just one more avenue that Apple can learn what users like and don’t.
There is a way to build a curated radio station, though. If a user searches for a song or band and starts a radio station from that, the aforementioned heart icon will transform into a star icon. Tapping on that will allow the user to choose either, “Play More Like This” or “Play Less Like This,” allowing the user to tweak, over time, what they want to hear within that station.
Certainly good information to have, especially for those that want to build the best possible content while divulging in Apple Music. And if you’re still digging into the service, be sure to check out these 15 tips and tricks to getting the most of Apple Music.
Have you tried out Apple’s streaming service yet? What do you think of it?
[via The Loop]
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