Google wants to help you discover new music with New Release Radio

Google Play Music has just received a persistent navigation bar

By Lulu Chang Updated July 22, 2017

Now that you can discover new music through Google Play Music, the service also wants you to be able to more easily navigate its music player, thanks to an update to its web app that makes it more like its mobile app. Now, there is a persistent side navigation rail in the web version of Google Play Music, so when you’re listening to New Release Radio, you’ll always see icons for Home, Music Library, and Recents. And if you hover over the vertical overflow icon immediately below those icons, you’ll see options for Top charts, New releases, Browse stations, and Podcasts.

Last week, Google Play Music announced a new feature aptly titled New Release Radio. The concept is simple — analyze your personal tastes, and introduce you to new music based on those tastes. Google notes that it leverages machine learning to select both singles and album releases that have dropped in the last two weeks based on your listening history and musical preferences. Ultimately, the search giant notes, “It’s a really quick way to check out all-new music that’s tailored just for you.”

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Google is certainly no stranger to personalized music suggestions. As it stands, you can have Google Music Player send you song suggestions based on where you are or why you’re listening — that means that if you’re hiking, you’ll get a different playlist than if you’re trying to crank through a difficult project at work.

But this is the first time that Google has taken personalization and applied it to the discovery of new music. Some users have actually had access to New Release Radio for quite some time. Thanks to Google’s partnership with Samsung, a number of Samsung users served as early adopters (really, guinea pigs) for the latest feature. And now that the early access program has run its course and feedback has been gathered and acted upon, the rest of us get to try things out, too.

It’s certainly a strategic move for Google, who has seen its competitors double down on music discovery. After all, Spotify’s Discovery Weekly playlist has been a huge part of its success, and the streaming service now has more than 50 million paid subscribers. Apple Music also has personalized new release stations, like its “My New Music Mix.”

New Release Radio is apparently found throughout Google Play Music, or if you want a more direct way to access the feature, simply search “New Release Radio.” Google noted that the station is free to all listeners (whether they pay for Google Music or not) and the station will be updated with the latest music releases on a regular basis.

Update: Google has updated its web app to look more like its mobile app with a persistent side navigation rail.

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