iHeart goes custom

iHEART BECOMES myHEART: An update to iHeartRadio unveiled Thursday by Clear Channel enables listeners to create "custom stations" similar to the Pandora model, the Wall Street Journal’s Ethan Smith pointed out. These upgrades rolled out on Thursday let users create "stations" based on a particular performer. A Bob Dylan station, as Smith noted, would play songs by Dylan and artists who have played with him like The Band as well as contemporaries like the Byrds. Clear Channel said iHeartRadio draws from 11 million tracks, compared with the 900k claimed by Pandora. A mobile version of the new iHeartRadio will become available for smartphones starting Monday, and the custom stations will run without commercials through the end of the year, according to a CC spokeswoman. The site still lets users listen to simulcasts of the radio giant’s 800 stations. (9/9a)