Skip to main content

Thanks to Songza, Google Play Music now tells you what you want to hear

google play music integrates songza  new recommendations web
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Songza and Google joined forces not that long ago after the search giant bought the company for an undisclosed amount. Google Play Music incorporated some of the best aspects of Songza into its music-streaming subscription service. Those who pay to listen to music from Google’s service will now have access to the smart, customized listening suggestions.

Google completely redesigned the “Listen Now” tab in Play Music in the style of Material Design for Android 5.0 Lollipop. Songza’s Concierge, which suggests tracks based on your listening preferences, your location, and the time of day, is now baked into the Play Music app. As soon as you open up the “Listen Now” tab, you’ll be greeted by personalized suggestions of mixes you might want to listen to at that specific moment. So if it’s Sunday morning, you might be greeted by lazy, relaxing songs, but if you’re about to go for your daily afternoon run, Google will suggest your workout mix.

The updated Play Music app uses context to figure out what you might want to hear next. It also aims to help you discover new songs and artists that you might enjoy, but without the annoyance of ads or a limited number of skips. If you choose to listen to one of Songza’s mixes on Play Music, you’ll be able to see all the tracks, reposition them, and delete the ones you don’t want to hear. Google’s team of music experts hand selects the tracks, though, so you shouldn’t need to skip tracks too often. The “Listen Now” tab will show a list of your most recently played music, new releases you might enjoy, and radio stations based on your preferences.

The new version of Play Music and the recommendations are available now for subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. You’ll be able to use the feature on Android, iOS, and the Web.

Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
How to download music from Spotify for offline listening
How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Read more
How to switch from Spotify to Apple Music
Spotify and Apple Music transfer on a smartphone.

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service for a reason. It has a massive catalog of music and podcasts, is full of cool music discovery and sharing features, and is really easy to use.
However, with its recent price increase and the fact that it still hasn't joined most of its peers in offering a hi-res audio quality option, you may be considering jumping ship for its closest competitor, Apple Music, which counts lossless hi-res tracks, mind-bending spatial audio, Dolby Atmos Music tracks, and a catalog that rivals Spotify's among the many attractive reasons to switch.

But there's one problem: you’ve spent a lot of time creating playlists and marking songs and albums as your favorites in Spotify. Is it worth the switch? Will all that hard work be lost in translation?

Read more
The best laptops for music production, chosen by experts
best laptops for music production

The world has gone pretty far when it comes to the processing power that we carry around with us, and if you're big into music production, then you're the luckiest of all. Some of the best laptops on the market have high-end CPUs for relatively low prices, which means that if you want to do music production on a laptop, you have a huge number of choices. Of course, that does also mean that it can be hard to navigate and pick the best laptop for your budget and needs, which is why we've done the legwork for you. We've collected our favorite picks below in various categories so that you can pick them with ease. Plus, we've even thrown in a quick guide on what to look for so that if you don't find what you want here, you can check out these other laptop deals for alternatives.
The Best Laptops for Music Production

Best overall laptop for music production:
Best Windows device for music production:
Best portable laptop for music production:
Best large-screen laptop for music production:
Best for 2-in-1 laptop for music production:

Read more