Rhapsody International, the company that houses both Rhapsody and Napster music streaming services, says it is cutting ties with the music recommendation system The Echo Nest. The move comes not long after Spotify purchased The Echo Nest for an undisclosed sum at the beginning of March.
Rhapsody, which the company claims is currently the second most-popular streaming service worldwide, notes that the time has come for it to improve its customers’ experience internally instead of outsourcing. “We decided now is the time to invest heavily in personalization, based on our experience as a pioneer in streaming music for over 13 years,” says Rhapsody International Senior Vice President of the Americas Paul Springer. The company notes that customers shouldn’t see any interruption in the services as both Rhapsody and Napster begin to roll out their own personalization service.
Rhapsody isn’t the first music service to end their partnership with The Echo Nest this month. Last week, Rdio cut ties with the recommendation service, shifting focus to other services in order to halt data sharing with a now-direct competitor.
