Similar Artists - "Play Random" Button

Feature Suggestions
1

Opens a modal window and offers options

  • Makes a random play list OR makes an ordered list which you can play randomly
  • Includes current Artist you’re listening to. This option is checked by default however may be unchecked
2

Like Plexamp’s artist/track radio?
I suppose you can already do that, can’t you?

3

Artist Radio does almost exactly what you want. I don’t think it’s a Plex Pass only feature.

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play_queue

4

Thanks for your reply…
Sounds like external content. (Probably why I’m not familiar with this feature)
The whole point of Plex (from my perspective) is managing MY content - My Media
If I wanted ‘Radio’ I would have already signed up to Spotify or something similar.
I DO want AI that categorises MY media sure - but with MY media

You can already create playlists manually however a quick button (which is what I’m suggesting) would make sense placed next to the Similar Artists Subtitle.

5

Try it, it’s not external media but a mix of related tracks/albums/artists from your own library (unless you e.g. configure Plexamp to include media from shared libraries you get from friends).

6

Thanks - I’ll give it a go

Still though, from a UX perspective, I would add this button next to the Similar Artist Subtitle OR create a similar feature and, though object programming, extend the programming used by the ‘Radio’ feature’s button

7

Artist Radio doesn’t play a medley of tracks from the Similar Artists, it plays anything from what I can only imagine is the same era. Some of the music it played was not even remotely within the same genre as the Similar Artists listed.

So no, it’s definitely not the same

…but thanks

8

If you have enabled sonic analysis on your server, the radios will use that “sonic similarity” to determine the content of the resulting queue. This isn’t based on metadata like genres or an external reference of what’s considered similar.

There’s been a number of discussions about how those radios are fed.

9

Thanks for that tip, I was unaware of this feature.

It’s not available in PlexAmp though but I’m hoping that by changing the setting in my desktop app for Plex that this will change for PlexAmp (ie PlexAmp is just a terminal for Plex)

10

Artist Radio can be pretty hit and miss because it is steered by metadata sourced from online databases. If you don’t agree with what Musicbrainz thinks are “similar artists” then it won’t give a satisfying mix for you. You can get into the artist metadata and edit the similar artists tags if you want.

Add to this the annoying fact that artist Radio has been broken for any Android client for over half a year now, and you have to wonder if the feature is not just another good idea that doesn’t work.

Artist radio will use external content (Tidal, shared libraries) if you have them but having this is by no means obligatory.

I find Artist Radio gives a much more satisfying mix if you start from a popular artist - probably because the metadata links are richer around popular artists.

If you use Plexamp and you have enabled sonic analysis on your server and waited possibly weeks until it completes, then you get mixes that do not depend on what humans program into tags and personally I find the results more interesting. If you choose Artist radio it will use external content. If you choose Track Radio, it does not, at least not for me.