App of the week: Dash Radio

This week, we’re continuing the music theme with a relatively new app called Dash Radio.

Replete with its own flagship radio station, aptly called Dash 1, Dash Radio takes the so-hot-right-now curated internet radio station motif and expands it beyond a single source.

Available for iOS and Android, the company relies on sponsored radio stations instead of ads for revenue; Snoop Dogg, for example, hosts the Cadillac station where, obviously, his own tracks, and those of his favourite MCs, are plentiful.

Snoop Dogg isn’t the only brand name on Dash Radio’s masthead, either. Taco from hip-hop group, Odd Future; Poo Bear, a well-known DJ; electro legend, Paul Van Dyk; DJ Skee; Kreayshawn; T-Boz; and Tara McDonald also grace the app’s many channels.

Similar to Apple’s Beats 1, its possible to see songs previously played, but not those upcoming. And like most radio stations, DJs chime in from time to time, but much of the programming is, well, programmed.

After spending some hours listening to Beats 1, I came away frustrated with the oft-eclectic mixes chosen by its DJs. Sometimes you just want predictability.

Dash Radio provides the same quality, but in a number of measured, themed stations that are more easily set and forgotten. There’s still variety, but the genres don’t typically jump all over the place in the same way.

The service is available on iOS and Android, but the former is a far better experience than the latter, which appears to be have been built using Gingerbread-era tools. There’s also a very nice web interface.

Any way you listen, if you’re a fan of streaming music, give Dash Radio a try. It’s well worth it.