Google Play Music getting personal with machine learning and highly individualized suggestions at the forefront

Google is revamping its Play Music streaming app to focus heavily on context and personalization. Using machine learning to figure out what music you want to listen to, the app will suggest songs and playlists depending on what time and day it is, where you are, what the local weather is, and other factors that could possibly affect your mood and musical preferences. The update will see a gradual global roll-out, starting this week on Android, iOS and the web version of Google Play Music.

In keeping with recent Google efforts, such as Google Now and the new Google Assistant, Play Music now relies heavily on machine learning to offer a completely refreshed list of suggestions every time you fire up the app. Launching Play Music on a Friday night, for example, may yield you a wild dance playlist, while doing the same on a Sunday evening may present you with a fine selection of soothing jazz tunes, perfect for unwinding in front of the fireplace. It all depends on what music you like, however, among many other factors, so suggestions will vary greatly from person to person. We didn't even know there was music for the sunny winter days, until Play Music this morning hit us with a great list of tunes, somehow perfectly fitting for those conflictingly cold-but-bright winter days. Heck, it's not even winter yet but the app knows it feels like it already!

Depending on how heavily you're wired on Google's services, Play Music will have different amount of information about your musical tastes and preferences at its disposal. If you're starting just now, don't expect to get recommendations as plentiful or as diverse as long-time users who have been feeding Play Music with info for years, but the app will learn about you quickly enough and you will quickly begin to see new suggestions and playlists popping up on your device.

Contextual recommendations are becoming the norm in music streaming services these days, and Play Music is moving ahead of the curve in this respect thanks to the new highly-personalized suggestions. A single account subscription for Google Play Music costs $9.99 a month, although you can give it a try for free with the 30-day trial.

source: Google