iTunes Genius

September 12, 2008

Ok, so Apple calls its new iTunes feature Genius. When this was first announced, I thought they would be doing a recommendation based on who was buying what. Or I thought they would be using a Pandora-like (or even Pandora) analysis of the music.

Having used Genius for almost three days now, I know it is something more. I don't know what they are doing, but it seems to me that they must be analyzing the iTunes playback data itself. Specifically, I think that they are using the last-played date/time data to compare what songs you have played next to other songs.

I say this because I setup unusual playlists, where the genre of songs can be quite different. In my playlists, I might have the Propellerheads along-side Nicola Conte. Then I might switch over to a playlist with Devo and Kraftwerk.

So, what does the Genius playlist include when I choose a Nicola Conte song as the basis? Here is the list of artists:

Bill Laswell
David Byrne
Jean-Michel Jarre
Kraftwerk
Nicola Conte
Out Back
Propellerheads
Thievery Corporation
Trio

Now, I have no playlists in my present library with these specific artists together. I can't tell you how Genius knows how to put them together, but I can tell you that the styles range far enough apart that there is no way a Pandora-only style playlist would do this.

And you know what? I like the mix!