Napster adding more personalization to its mobile app

Napster is introducing some new features to its mobile product. The changes include a collaboration with headphone-maker Even to offer customized audio tuning in each ear with a feature dubbed EarPrint. Napster is also rolling out a streamlined home screen and a greater focus on personalized recommendations through the app.

The service has added “Playlists For You” to the home screen, a collection of suggested lists based on an individual’s listening habits as well as their friends’ choices. The other two additions are Personalized New Album Releases and “Your Napster Mix,” both features that deliver recommended songs or albums based on past listening. Napster’s press release doesn’t specify how these suggestions are generated, whether by algorithm, human curation, or a combination.

Many of these new developments echo the personalization tools other rival streaming services have adopted. For instance, the Your Napster Mix is described in similar language to Spotify’s Daily Mix, and that streaming service also offers a weekly recommendation playlist centered on new releases.