In the earlier days of Android, music management was no easy task. Since there was (and is) no universal iTunes-like apparatus, as there is for the iPhone, users had to essentially connect their devices to computers as USB mass storage and copy over the files. With a clear need for some kind of management system, many developers flocked to the space. Of all the ones I tried, I found doubleTwist’s media syncing app the best.
Not long after I discovered doubleTwist, it added a streaming music feature, though it was no real competitor to existing services on the market. It was just a nice little perk for double Twist users. Now, though, doubleTwist is coming at the streaming market with its own product.
Magic Radio is more like Pandora than Spotify, in that it streams music without much user control. While it contains pre-programmed stations, it adds a twist that you won’t get from Pandora and other streaming services: your own songs. The app uses these as a base for streaming.
You don’t need to do anything to make it work. Magic Radio scans your music library and plays songs that you already have. That might seem like a glorified shuffle feature, but it does organize them based on a number of attributes, similar to Pandora. The neat catch is that Magic Radio adds in music it thinks you’ll like, based on what you own. That way you get music you know you’ll like, in addition to music you might find that you love.
The beauty of this setup is that it works for all different kinds of streaming music listeners. Those who subscribe to streaming music services for discovery will get that feature with Magic Radio. With 13 million songs at its disposal, you’re bound to hear plenty of new stuff. It works even better for those who use streaming services for a thought-free way to listen to music. By using your own music as a base, you know you’re getting something you like.
At $3.99 per month, Magic Radio is priced more attractively than Spotify. Of course, with Spotify you control what you listen to, and can listen offline. Magic Radio is more like Pandora, though it’s priced at a dollar more per month (Pandora One is $36 per year to Magic Radio’s $48). Priced in line with Pandora, I think Magic Radio would see a few more converts. But as it stands, it’s tough to see anyone making the jump.
Magic Radio comes with the doubleTwist app, which you can download for free at Google Play. It does come with a free seven-day trial, so you can give it a whirl to see how it stacks up.
Via Phone Scoop.
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