About SWR
SWR is not only Germany’s 3rd biggest radio station but also investing heavily in the future of radio via its own innovation entity SWR audiolab. Their goal is to develop new radio experiences to attract audiences who no longer listen to traditional radio. For instance, the new SWR mobile app enables users to skip songs – a concept completely revolutionary to linear radio.
Weekly listeners of SWR owned radio stations in Germany: 7,07 million
Visits of SWR online services in 2019: 218,3 million

“Our aspiration is to create the future of radio for tomorrow and beyond by combining media trends and technologies with the demands of our users.”
Challenge
By providing on-demand content, SWR steps out of their radio license and have to pay royalties for every song stream like Spotify or Apple Music. Every skip means additional costs.

Shall I skip or shall I go?
Solution: Bespoke recommendation system
SWR implemented Cyanite’s music intelligence and user insight systems to automate song recommendations and personalized playlists based on listener preferences significantly lowering skips and increasing session times. The technology is delivered via the Cyanite API and seamlessly integrated into SWR’s new radio app.

This is a screenshot of Cyanite’s library view which easily turns a catalogue into an accountable database
Results
+ 60% lower skip rate
+ Annual cost saving of >60,000 €
+ 46% increase in session time
+ Valuable data on user behaviour and personal music preference

Christian Hufnagel
Co-Founder of SWR audio labs
Christian Hufnagel is the co-founder of SWR audio labs and drives the innovation activities of SWR forward.
“Cyanite recommendation algorithms help us to develop a personalized radio station of the future that better attracts and engages listeners.”
I want to integrate AI in my service as well – how can I get started?
Please contact us with any questions about our Cyanite AI via mail@cyanite.ai. You can also directly book a web session with Cyanite co-founder Markus here.
If you want to get the first grip on Cyanite’s technology, you can also register for our free web app to analyze music and try similarity searches without any coding needed.
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