Interacting with Context Factors in Music Recommendation and Discovery

ABSTRACT

The rapid development in mobile computing has brought context sensing and information available for music recommendation as well. We reviewed 19 experimental contextual music systems and found that while the context factors of location, time, activity, and identity are adopted in a wide variety of ways, the systems mainly rely on common UI solutions for interacting with these factors. Specifically, context factors could be employed to offer explanations, transparency, and visualizations of music recommendations in more explorative ways, providing novel user experiences. Based on our review, we provide implications for design and research on future media discovery systems, which we believe can realize the great potential of context-aware content services.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pirkka Åman

Pirkka Åman (@pirkkaaman) is a doctoral candidate in Media Lab Helsinki, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University, Finland. His current research includes music discovery and recommendation through contextual and experimental interfaces. He also has research interests in augmented urban environments and energy and health applications.

Lassi A. Liikkanen

Lassi A. Liikkanen (@lassial) is an adjunct professor at Aalto University and design analyst at Futurice, Finland. His PhD in Product Development was awarded by the Aalto University, Finland, with a postdoctorate period partially spent at Stanford University. His interest lies in design practices and psychology. He has authored 80+ peer-reviewed publications.