The World of Mobile Music - Lab Assignment #9

This week, we're venturing into the music industry to see what options there are for online streaming.

MC Solaar (Hip Hop/Rap)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Guru, NTM, Torpedo Boyz, Tandem, Supreme NTM
• LaLa’s related artists: Saian Super Crew, Sniper, Manau, Sinik, TTC
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Black-Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Dead Prez, Grand Puba, Fort Minor
• LastFM’s picks: IAM, Oxmo Puccino, Akhenaton, Doc Gyneco, Fonky Family

Carla Bruni (French Pop)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Nouvelle Vague, Ingrid Michaelson, Coralie Clements, Feist, Cat Power
• LaLa’s related artists: The Smiths, Regina Spektor, Feist, The Temper Trap, Mumm-Ra
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Serge Gainsbourg, Sia, Etienne Daho, Vanessa Paradis, Broken Social Scene
• LastFM’s picks: Coralie Clement, Keren Ann, Camille, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy

Andrea Bocelli (Classical, Opera)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Josh Groban, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Buble, Il Divo
• LaLa’s related artists: Susan Boyle, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Michael Buble, Bing Crosby
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Kronos Quartet, Michael Buble, Luciano Pavarotti, Hayley Westenra, Vittorio Grigolo
• LastFM’s picks: Luciano Pavarotti, Il Divo, Josh Groban, Placido Domingo, Sarah Brightman

Conor Oberst (Indie, Folk)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Ryan Adams, Neva Dinova, Damien Rice, Sufjan Stephens, the Beatles
• LaLa’s related artists: Okkervil River, Monsters of Folk, Blitzen Trapper, The National, David Sitek
• Grooveshark’s top 5: The Honorary Title, Damien Rice, Metric, Rocky Votolato, Colin Meloy
• LastFM’s picks: Park Ave., Desaparecidos, Commander Venus, M. Ward, Simon Joyner

Alicia Keys (Soul, R&B)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Ne-Yo, Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, Beyonce
• LaLa’s related artists: Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, R Kelly, Usher, Beyonce
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Kelly Clarkson, Usher, Maiysha, Anthony Hamilton, Mary J. Blige
• LastFM’s picks: Amerie, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Aaliyah, Mariah Carey

Janis Joplin (Rock)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Etta James, The Beatles, The Doors
• LaLa’s related artists: The Band, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Jimi Hendrix, Boz Scaggs
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Supertramp, Bee Gees, Melissa Etheridge, Wilco, Eric Clapton
• LastFM’s picks: Big Brother & the Holding, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin

My thoughts on the experiment:
Personally, I prefered Grooveshark's choices over the other stations' selections. Grooveshark does a great job of mixing the artists, while still adding new and different (but still related) artists into the mix. Pandora is great because it finds what a user likes, but the skip count feature is frustrating and annoying, and I find I often end up hearing the same songs over and over. The other two websites seemed to just find the most popular related source, which doesn't necessarily have any relation at all to the actual artists (I was not a fan.).