iHeartRadio’s Playlist Radio gives all users access to playlists

Over the last few years, iHeartRadio has built a reputation for offering a free music service that delivers thousands of live, streaming AM and FM radio stations. And just like rival Pandora, iHeartRadio allows its users to create their personalized radio station, basically helping inspire would be disc jockeys in the digital age. 

Well, the company is continuing to expand its repertoire by introducing a new feature called Playlist Radio. This feature is made available to both paying subscribers and free service customers, and what it does basically is serve up a set of tracks curated and programmed by radio DJs and key members of iHeartRadio’s staff. In other words, listeners get to experience a playlist compiled by an actual human music aficionado, and not some random algorithm or artificial intelligence.

Staying true to its “radio” branding, iHeartRadio does not allow people to rearrange tracks on the new Playlist Radio feature, but listeners do enjoy the option of skipping up to half a dozen tracks on an hourly basis within a playlist if they want to. This is actually a capability that free users may be familiar with, especially when listening to artist stations.

But quite possibly the coolest thing about the introduction of the Playlist Radio feature is that iHeartRadio’s entire catalog of more than a thousand playlists is made available to just about everybody. And when we say all, we mean all -- including playlists that are artist created, compiled based on genre, designed for a specific activity, belonging to a specific musical era, or created based on a theme. Previously, iHeartRadio’s playlists were only accessible through an iHeartRadio Plus subscription, which happens to cost five bucks each month, and through an iHeartRadio All Access plan (unlimited access to millions of tracks, plus support for offline listening). 

As pointed out by Chris Williams, the chief product officer of iHeartRadio, every customer now gets easy access to the musical tastes of some of the best music curators across the globe. On a regular basis, iHeartRadio taps into the best radio DJs, music directors, program directors, and musical artists in the planet, and then adding its own formidable team of music experts. The result is a vast ocean of not quite randomly assembled playlists than can be explored by every music fan.

As for those who want to create their own playlists, they still have to sign up for an iHeartRadio Plus or iHeartRadio All Access subscription.