Google Play Music announces Songza playlists integration

Google has announced an update to its Google Play Music app which includes an integration with Songza, the internet radio startup it acquired this summer.

Songza’s strength lied in its expertly curated playlists which, coupled with the app’s interface, provided listeners with music to match their activities and preferred genres.

These playlists were not algorithmically calculated but put together manually by a team of music experts hired by the company.

Since the Google Play Music subscription experience is based on on-demand listening it allows for a higher degree of flexibility than Songza. The latter was constrained by the limits imposed on internet radios when it came to the amount of “actions” its users could perform, such as skipping songs, and it didn't allow them to "edit" the playlist.

With the Google Play Music integration, users are able to skip unlimited tracks, delete tracks from the playlist and even cache them for offline listening.

Google has given Songza’s playlists a prominent spot in the “Listen Now” page and - much like Spotify and other streaming services - now suggests appropriate playlists based on the day of the week and the time of the day.

Whilst the “Listen Now” page has become available in all 45 countries where Google Play Music is available, the activity-based recommendations are currently restricted to the US and Canada.

The announcement was posted by Google Play Music product managers Brandon Bilinski and Elias Roman, the latter co-founder and CEO of Songza.


(Andrea Leonelli)