I was sick of Spotify playing me the same songs over and over, so I found an alternative in Radiooooo, a user-generated site that is half streaming service, half time machine.
With virtually every song ever recorded available at your fingertips for a pittance, it’s not an over-exaggeration to say that Spotify, and other major streaming platforms, have completely transformed the way we think about and consume music. But, even the most ardent defenders of the enormous streaming site would surely admit that Spotify is not without its faults – one of which is that it seems to consistently suggest music that you’ve already heard 100 times when it generates your personalized playlists. And so, bored of the repetition, I sought out an alternative streaming platform to Spotify – and that’s when I came across Radiooooo…
What is Radiooooo?
Radiooooo is the brainchild of a team of music enthusiasts who came together in 2013 to devise an interactive site where fellow music heads could share their favorites with one another, regardless of physical boundaries or differences in taste.
By combining the recommendations of listeners across the globe, Radiooooo has been able to collate a huge playlist in the form of a map of the world.
Users can access the site for free and scroll through the map, picking out tunes that have been suggested by individuals in each nation. More specifically you can apply time and genre filters to your searches – meaning, for example, if you were in the mood for an upbeat Italian song from the 60s, or a chilled-out song from Finland in the 2010s, there would be something there for you.
The site also has playlists embedded into it based on a range of specific moods, or if you don’t know what you’re in the mood for – you can hit shuffle, and let the Radiooooo listeners take you on a border-crossing and genre-bending journey.
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Why I’m using Radiooooo as an alternative to Spotify
To me, the benefit of Radiooooo is rather than letting an algorithm decide what I’ll be listening to, I can put my sonic choices in the hands of people who have taken the time to pick out sounds that they think other open-minded listeners will appreciate.
While not every song is guaranteed to be a winner, this is also the case if you are listening to the radio or just a regular Spotify playlist. The difference is, even if I hear something on Radiooooo that I’m not too keen on – it was probably a new genre or style of music I had never heard before, and I have benefitted from the experience by learning that maybe it’s not for me.
After a few minutes of playing around with the filters and scrolling through the maps when I first tried the site this week, I had already discovered a handful of new songs for my playlist, including Fatima – an upbeat 90s track from an Algerian artist named Hamid Baroudi that was discovered by a listener in France, or a 1970s Italian disco song titled I Love My Disco Baby – flagged by a user simply named ‘Burgers’.
As previously mentioned, you don’t have to pay to use the site – but there are paid subscriptions available for those who want to delve a little deeper, which allow you to skip, fast-forward and queue music – as well as access AI-generated music which is said to emulate how our listening experience will sound in the year 2070.
How can I contribute?
If you’ve enjoyed your time spinning the virtual globe and picking out your favorite tracks, and now wish to leave your input you can send in requests fairly easily – provided you have signed up to make an account.
That doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that your songs will be added to the site.
According to Radiooooo, each piece of music that is sent in is listened to by the team, who decide if it passes the vibe check.
While there are no strict criteria for what passes as Radiooooo worthy, the owners of the site follow “an editorial approach that reflects (their) own taste” and “are always on the search for that special melody that moves us”.
If you want to play around with the site or maybe even send in some of your favorite music, you can check out Radiooooo here.
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