MixRadio not really mixing?

[bsayegh]

I downloaded MixRadio last week and have to say I love the concept. I think it is, at least in theory, much better than Pandora. The only problem I have noticed is that it doesn't vary the music all that much. If I pick 3 bands to put in a mix, this is what I have noticed:

1. The 3rd band I picked rarely, if ever, gets played. Even music in that style rarely gets played.
2. More obscure bands rarely get play time. If they do get played, its usually the same songs every time i turn on my phone.
3. Even for large bands they tend to play the same songs a lot. Like their catalog isnt big enough or osmething.
4. It doesnt alternate styles. Sometimes it will play one type of music for like 5 songs in a row before switching to one of the other ones.

For example, I currently have a mix that contains Linkin Park, Of Monsters and Men, and Jurassic 5. So I would expect to hear a good mix of early 2000's rock, folk songs, and underground(ish) rap. Instead what happens is that the same Linkin Park song always plays first (The Catalyst, which isn't really that good anyway), then 5 or 6 folk songs (I don't like the style, really, I just like Of Monsters and Men, and not a single rap song will play. Not from Jurassic 5 or anyone else.

If I switch the order to J5, LP, then OMAM, I will hear some really obscure, random song from J5, the same LP song again, and maybe every 10th song is similar to OMAM.

Is this just a matter of me needing to listen longer and build up a library of likes and dislikes? Is there a setting I need to set? Should I just stick with 2 bands?

I want to love this app, but I am having trouble getting it to work the way I think it should =(

 

[Giddora]

I downloaded MixRadio last week and have to say I love the concept. I think it is, at least in theory, much better than Pandora. The only problem I have noticed is that it doesn't vary the music all that much. If I pick 3 bands to put in a mix, this is what I have noticed:

1. The 3rd band I picked rarely, if ever, gets played. Even music in that style rarely gets played.
2. More obscure bands rarely get play time. If they do get played, its usually the same songs every time i turn on my phone.
3. Even for large bands they tend to play the same songs a lot. Like their catalog isnt big enough or osmething.
4. It doesnt alternate styles. Sometimes it will play one type of music for like 5 songs in a row before switching to one of the other ones.

For example, I currently have a mix that contains Linkin Park, Of Monsters and Men, and Jurassic 5. So I would expect to hear a good mix of early 2000's rock, folk songs, and underground(ish) rap. Instead what happens is that the same Linkin Park song always plays first (The Catalyst, which isn't really that good anyway), then 5 or 6 folk songs (I don't like the style, really, I just like Of Monsters and Men, and not a single rap song will play. Not from Jurassic 5 or anyone else.

If I switch the order to J5, LP, then OMAM, I will hear some really obscure, random song from J5, the same LP song again, and maybe every 10th song is similar to OMAM.

Is this just a matter of me needing to listen longer and build up a library of likes and dislikes? Is there a setting I need to set? Should I just stick with 2 bands?

I want to love this app, but I am having trouble getting it to work the way I think it should =(

I did have mixed (no pun intended) results when I first started using the service when it was launched. But after using it systematically and being quite active with liking/disliking songs that play I have gotten really good results from it. It serves me music from artists that I've never heard of that make music I really like and I get the mainstream music I like.

I don't know if it is because the service has been improved or if it is because I've been reviewing tracks (thumbs up/down)... But I'd say it gets better with every time I use it.

 

[bsayegh]

Yeah I am hoping it is a matter of just using it more and the service recognizing what I like and dislike. Maybe I need to start with 3 very common artists so that I can build some kind of reputation and then move on to more obscure stuff.

 

[bsayegh]

I have added about 15 new artists and when I hit Play Now it always plays the same songs! I don't know, there is something really wrong with Mix Radio. Maybe I need to reinstall it or something (I guess it wont matter if its all tied to my Nokia account). If I listen to any artist more than once, it will always play the same songs. Almost always in the same order, too. I wonder if it is some licensing issue that Nokia has? I don't know if I can keep using this thing. Maybe I just need to Thumbs Down everything I am tired of hearing, but some songs I actually like, I just don't want to listen to for the 20th time.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

I have the same issue. I hear the same 8 to 10 songs over and over again.

 

[bsayegh]

Im glad I am not the only one. Its such a great idea, I don't know why it is so poorly executed.

 

[Francesco Savoini]

Im glad I am not the only one. Its such a great idea, I don't know why it is so poorly executed.

Windows Phone in a nutshell, lately.. anyway i have the same issue

 

[bsayegh]

Windows Phone in a nutshell, lately.. anyway i have the same issue

Has it always been like this or has it changed after the recent updates?

 

[Miska Hietala]

For me I have had the exact same problems. That's why I ended up quitting whole service, because it loops the same songs. For example I choose four bands,I get total of ten different songs which will play in a loop.

 

[Francesco Savoini]

Has it always been like this or has it changed after the recent updates?

I think it changed recently, but i'm not 100% sure

 

[bsayegh]

Im going to post something on their UserVoice. Not sure if they really check it but they need to. When I first heard about it I thought it was going to be fantastic. Now I can barely listen to it. Whether I pick a band that has been around for 30 years or some obscure group that nobody has heard of, it still ends up playing just a few songs.

It might just be a bug that they don't know about.