SiriusXM Takes On Pandora, Custom Radio with MySXM Powered By The Echo Nest

The music service with more paid subscribers than any other is taking direct aim at Pandora and other custom music stream providers.

Today satellite broadcaster SiriusXM launched MySXM which, with some help from The Echo Nest, allows users to customize the mix of 50+ SiriusXM music channels. 

When listeners first start listening to a MySXM channel, they hear curated programming from the regular SiriusXM broadcast channel. By using sliders the user can personalize the stream thanks The Echo
Nest music algorithms. For
example, a user listening to  “80’s on 8” who wants more early
80’s dance tunes can adjust the sliders. Listeners
can also reprogram the channel with the sliders at any time.

EchoNest powered Taste Profiles also build an understanding of each MySXM user’s music preference and listening
trends, and their Dynamic Playlisting engine generates curated
and personalized channels based on hundreds of musical attributes, cultural
attributes and custom radio programming rules established by SiriusXM’s curators.

"This partnership is
the most sophisticated combination of expert human music curation
and data-driven music discovery the industry has seen," The Echo Nest said in a statement. "After working with SiriusXM’s music programming and digital product team
for over a year, we’re confident this approach will re-shape how music services
think about personalized radio."