There are plenty of pros and cons to both Apple Music and Spotify, but I’ve stuck with the latter for over a decade because of its music discovery features. I’ve found thousands of my favorite songs and artists over the years that I might never have heard of otherwise, thanks to Spotify’s algorithm. More specifically, listening to my customized Discover Weekly playlist has become a habit every Monday morning, and now Apple Music is finally adding its own.
First spotted by AppleInsider, Apple Music users found a surprising addition in the “Stations for You” section under the “Listen Now” tab. In addition to [Your name]’s Station, there is now a new Discovery Station. As the name suggests, the Discovery Station surfaces songs that you haven’t listened to before which Apple Music thinks you might enjoy.
Apple didn’t formally announce the Discovery Station, but it appears to be widely available as of Monday afternoon. You can find it on the Apple Music mobile, desktop, and web apps, but you’ll need an active account and subscription in order to play it.
As noted by 9to5Mac, the Discovery Station has seemingly been in testing for at least a year, as users have reported seeing it prior to the official rollout today. At this point, we’ll just have to wait patiently and see if Apple is going to say anything about the launch.
In the meantime, this is going to be a big deal for many Apple Music users. While I like having a limited number of songs in my Discover Weekly playlist — so I know that I can reach the end — I’d also love to see an endless radio station that isn’t constrained by genre or year on Spotify. I’d probably choose that over the relatively repetitive Daily Mixes.
If Apple keeps pushing in this direction, I might have to give Apple Music another shot.
