![Spotify Radio: Pandora's Biggest Nightmare? [REVIEW]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/04WOhiuRz6BhikgyquUZYIx/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647020503.jpg)
The big news with Spotify Radio is that stations can be created around not just genres -- but artists and songs as well. This puts Spotify Radio on more equal footing with music-discovery juggernauts such as Pandora.
Spotify Radio is powered by The Echo Nest. The Echo Nest's Playlist API powers the stations, using Spotify's library of 15 million tracks -- along with The Echo Nest's recommendation technology -- to create a rich and customized radio experience.
The Echo Nest has spent much of 2011 making deals with various companies, including iHeartRadio, the MTV Music Meter and eMusic's new radio stations.
The net result is that you can get a more granular, customized radio experience. For instance, in my tests, I was impressed that creating a radio station around the college a cappella group, The Dartmouth Aires, included tracks from other college (and even a few post-collegiate) groups, as well as some symphony takes on modern pop songs. As a category, a cappella isn't well tagged within Spotify, which is why I chose this as a test subject.
Right now, the only feature that Spotify Radio is missing is the ability to "unlike" or "ban" a track. After all, if I'm listening to a "Singer-Songwriter" station and I start to hear a lot of John Mayer, pressing skip until Josh Ritter or Jose Gonzalez comes on can be an annoying part of an otherwise pleasant experience.
The big advantage that Spotify Radio has over Pandora is Spotify's unlimited skips. This gives users an enormously powerful way to find just the right sort of jam.
I do wish I could save a certain Spotify Radio set as a playlist for future listening.