Comments on: Why the iTunes Genius Button Is So Wicked Sweet

By: Gino

Gino — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:45:57 +0000

Also just want to add that I’ve got over 20000 scrobbles on last.fm, so they’ve got a pretty good idea of what I like. I throw on either “My Mix” or the “My Library” station and I constantly get songs I love, really like, have forgotten about but love, and new stuff that fits me.

By: Gino

Gino — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:42:34 +0000

Just want to say first that after discovering this site last night, I’m hooked! I never even knew there were agencies dedicated to cruise ship gigs. You’ve got a wonderful site here and I hope to read more.
That said, I’m not really a big fan of the Genius button. I get better results and recommendations through last.fm (of course last.fm only really works after you’ve been scrobbling a lot of music on it). Genius doesn’t even work for some relatively well known artists (I was shocked when it didn’t even recognize Minus the Bear). I also don’t need Apple collecting any more info on me than they’ve already got. But that’s just me, if it works for you, by all means, go ahead.

By: David J. Hahn

David J. Hahn — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:46:30 +0000

Aaron – I think you’re probably expecting more nuance than a machine is capable of. I think the Genius button does as good a job as, say, Pandora or Last.fm – except it does it with your own music (which I think is great). I get the best results when I use it to introduce my ears to genres I don’t know very well.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:14:13 +0000

Genius is definitely a moron. Let’s see, the most famous piece in this whole world is probably Beethoven’s 5th, and it works for that, somewhat. (Can someone tell me how that is related to Shostakovich’s 1st Cello concerto?) The second most famous piece is probably the Ode to Joy of the 9th, and there it already fails.

By: Dave’s Best of 2008 - Musician Wages.com

Dave’s Best of 2008 - Musician Wages.com — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:04:23 +0000

[...] Man, I can’t say enough about this little feature on the 2008 release of iTunes. It’s changed the way I listen to my music. I lavished more praise on it several months ago in this article. [...]

By: Metadata Explained for Musicians by Cameron Mizell

Metadata Explained for Musicians by Cameron Mizell — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:29:49 +0000

[...] not to mention any other obscure album those musicians or songs would appear on (well, maybe I still do that). Now any of that information can be Googled on your iPhone, and the results not only tell you [...]

By: Cameron Mizell

Cameron Mizell — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:06:10 +0000

I've had a rough jazz day.

By: Your Music + Playlists = Discovery | Musician Wages

Your Music + Playlists = Discovery | Musician Wages — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:29:36 +0000

[...] to post iMixes to the store since 2004 and now create them for you with this new Genius button (see Dave’s piece about the genius behind this [...]

By: David J. Hahn

David J. Hahn — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:05:59 +0000

Cam. I can’t believe you called me on that.

By: Cameron Mizell

Cameron Mizell — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:36:48 +0000

Dave, first off, “Touch Me In The Morning” was on Ahmad Jamal’s 1980 Motown album “Night Song.” He also plays “When You Wish Upon A Star” to illustrate the depth of the repertoire. “The Awakening” on the other hand was from 1970 and recorded for Impulse. He plays killer cuts of “Stolen Moments,” “Dolphin Dance,” and “Wave.” It’s one of my favorites! Go fix your metadata! Ha.

But to stay on topic, the Genius button is great. And there’s an added bonus for artists who sell their music on iTunes: The results seem to be generated via customer purchase patterns. So if somebody buys one of your tracks on a whim and then forgets they have it, the Genius button could bring it back to their attention. And as it’s playing, if they have the Genius window open, it points them to the rest of your music in the store. Pretty damn sweet.