“Amazon Music debuts DJ Mode” plus 1 more

Guest post by Randi Zimmerman. This article originally appeared on the Symphonic Blog

In an attempt to bring live radio vibes into the realm of music streaming , Amazon Music has announced DJ Mode. A brand new, on-demand listening experience that blends music with commentary from Artists and Hosts, bringing fans even closer to the music they love. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Amazon Music Introduces DJ Mode

Here’s the rundown…

DJ Mode is a new feature from Amazon Music that offers personalized hosted stations with some of the industry’s biggest artists. Users can tune in to DJ-curated music, artist interviews, and feature insights from music experts whenever and wherever.

The first artist-led DJ Mode will be hosted and personally curated by none other than Billie Eilish. In it, she’ll give a rundown on her favorite songs and share stories from her new album, Happier Than Ever.

What else is new?

Amazon Music’s most popular playlists including Rap Rotation, Country Heat and All Hits playlists will also feature DJ Mode.

To try it out for yourself, subscribers can ask Alexa to “play in DJ Mode”, or access it through the Amazon Music app for iOS, Android, and Fire TV.

As the industry continues to grow and learn from new experimental features across platforms, users are eager for new ways to consume content. DJ Mode is just another example of taking something old and revamping it for the new digital age.

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Have you ever wanted to learn a second language? Being bilingual, especially in Spanish, is a great asset, both personally and professionally. But learning Spanish can seem overwhelmingly difficult when you’re first starting. Taking classes and studying books are good tools, but they’re only helpful to a point. To truly become fluent, you need to hear Spanish as everyday people speak it. 

Fortunately, there is an easy and enjoyable way to listen to your target language every day and improve your skills. All you need is access to the radio. In fact, studies show that listening to radio stations in a foreign language is one of the most effective ways to absorb and learn that language yourself. Here are some tips for leveraging the radio to increase your Spanish-speaking skills.

Finding the Right Spanish Radio Stations To Listen To

With the explosion in the popularity of internet radio stations, you can easily find a plethora of stations in any language with a few simple clicks. For Spanish, check out La Mega for a variety of programming, from music to talk shows and beyond.

You may find that listening to news broadcasts is the easiest way to begin since announcers tend to use more formal language and speak more slowly than participants in talk shows and interviews. As you become more accustomed to hearing the spoken word, you may want to expand your exposure by tuning into more informal programming, where you’ll be more likely to hear colloquial and slang speech.

Listening to advertisements and music is another great way to soak in the language as it is actually used in everyday life rather than in textbooks and software. It may be difficult to distinguish the individual words at first, but keep trying, and eventually, you’ll hear them.

Making It a Daily Habit

Learning Spanish, or any language, takes time, patience, and practice. Set aside about ten minutes a day to do nothing but listen to a Spanish radio station. That may not seem like enough time to make a difference, but because your brain will work behind the scenes afterward to assimilate what you’ve listened to, it’s actually an effective amount of exposure.

The most important part of your plan is consistency. Strive to tune in to the Spanish radio station every day of the week. Remember, it’s only for a few minutes. You can listen in as you wash dishes after dinner, in the car as you run errands, or on your headphones as you wait in line at the grocery store. No matter how or when you tune in, be sure to make it a regular part of your daily routine.

Taking the Next Steps

After a few days or weeks of simply listening to the radio in Spanish, you’re ready to move on to repeating back what you’ve heard. You’ll likely struggle at first, but just jump in and try it. Listen to a phrase or sentence the speaker says, and then try your best to imitate it. Strive to reproduce the exact pronunciation, phrasing, and intonation. Even if you don’t understand exactly what you’re saying, you’ll be laying the groundwork for speaking Spanish like a native speaker.

Finally, be sure to make learning fun by listening to radio stations and programs that you truly enjoy. If you’re a sports fan, listen to a live broadcast of a soccer game in Spanish. If you’re a music lover, find a Spanish music station that plays your favorite genre. Combining your personal interests with your goal of learning Spanish is a great way to ensure success.

Committing yourself to learn Spanish is an admirable goal. Setting out on the journey is the hardest part. Once you’ve taken that first step, you’re well on your way to victory. Listening to the radio in Spanish is one of the easiest and most efficient tools you can use on the road to becoming a Spanish speaker.