The only good thing about Spotify is that you can control the algorhythm with a bit of work instead of the other way around.
I’m feeding off the weekly recommendations that are filled with the 6-8 genres I like. I don’t get any mainstream garbage in my recommendations, and am finding New Songs every week.
I bet those articles come from the 3 big Labels
For me the recommendations have been circling the drain for a while. It’s just the same songs over and over again, and it seems to have decided that I only like ambient electronic music and indie pop, both of which I actually find quite boring. No matter what I do, and no matter how much I like songs in other genres, that’s what it serves me, along with the occasional '80s hit because it has figured out I’m old. It was good for a few years but then seemed to get stuck in a rut.
I’ve been very cautious over all the years that ive been using it. My rule is to only like what I wouldn’t mind listening daily to, and do playlists for all the other stuff that I don’t want to get bombarded with.
It has worked out for me.
This is why i only listen to music recomedations by Anatoly Bannano the internet’s busiest music nerd ™ and laurie my punk transwomen psychotic co-worker.
Oh what the hell time to hijack this thread… GIMMIE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO FIND NEW MUSIC!
Nts.live Dubspot Radio I’ve replaced streaming services with music nerd internet radio.
I love internet radio as much as the next boomer, But what ever happened to music blogs and independent music fans? I like the kind of fanboy that is both a critic and a bridge to new genres.
just stop listening to automated playlists
I’m the opposite of everyone here. Spotify is so good for discovery. My discover weekly consistently finds me awesome little bands I never would have found anywhere else. The mixes and playlist generation are terrible. The service is good. Offline mode is terrible.
I still send music I think is cool to my friends and vice versa. Being able to see what your friends are listening to is also great.
I’m still switching to my own music library using listenbrainz for discovery. Hopefully i can still find good music.
Yep, same here. The difference is, you need to use Spotify for some time so it learns what to show you. I consistently find amazing obscure bands out there.
Switched to deezer some years ago. I tested all music streaming services beforehand and found that Deezer an Applemusic have the most relevant music recommendations for me.
Both deezer and apple have all the spotify features my family wants plus lossless audio if youre into that kind of thing (like me). Since distribution is handled by tunecore etc the catalog is the same anyway. Decided on deezer because I use android. Also a neat little backdoor in their servers Ü.
Tidal is better
Music industry destroyed music way before Spotify. The second it became industry.
Imo music discovery on Spotify is best done by pursuing playlists posted by musicians you like or just hopping by related artists/album features.
The article hits the nail on the head when they say to listen to human curated content - whether it be curated by yourself or someone else, it’s the best way to find something new/good.
I think algorithms overall are affecting music and how it reaches people. The rise of songs as background music for things they have nothing to do with is becoming blatant. “Messy” came out of know where and suddenly everyone knew about it and it was in tons of videos. I had never heard of that woman before (which could be for a number of reasons) but suddenly, boom, it’s everywhere. Now it’s “Anxiety.” I used to (naively) think that people were just naturally coming across music and things were just popular. But without the charade of people “calling” in to request a song, the act of discovering music feels very soulless. It’s like, “here, please choose your new favorite song from these preselected songs.”
Frank Zappa put it this way [paraphrased]
In the 1960s the music execs were into Frank Sinatra and Duke Ellington. They had no idea what was going on, so they just threw money at any band that came along. You had a wide variety of music.
The first set of execs hired young guys who ‘knew what the kids want.’ Those guys played it safe, so in the 1970s you had stadium rock and disco.
Now AI ‘knows’ exactly what people want.
The story of how Zappa and the Mothers got a contract is amazing. Basically a label guy walked into a gig as they played Trouble Every Day, their only song ever with conventional commercial potential, and signed them on the spot.
Once they got to the studio and started playing some tremendously weird stuff it was too late to stop them.
exactly like yes Spotify is bad but are they thinking we had some natural occurring perfect system for music before?
The bigger issue is are artists being compensated, no they’re not.
I feel like the oldest man in the thread with about 100gigs of self-ripped music to which I still own the CD’s… Also with the signature look of superiority, of course.
Right there with you…I still rock one of these.
I have that same CD player. Like having my own streaming server. LOL
I don’t use Spotify. It feels kind of soulless.
Bandcamp was the best, I think. They’re still around, but their future is uncertain after being bought and sold. They have human written posts about like “the best doom in Texas” or “what’s new in punk”.
Whenever I talk to people that say they like music, and I suggest they buy albums instead of renting them from Spotify, they look at me like I’m crazy. They’d rather sell their soul for a little convenience. (And these aren’t poor people or teenagers with no money. I worked in tech and all my peers were six figure salary. They can afford to buy three albums a month for $18. Which frankly isn’t much more than a subscription, but then you get to keep something and eventually have a huge library)
the artist’s website (or actual indy label), bandcamp then piracy in that order for me. if i can pay the artist, i’ll pay the artist. then it goes on my jellyfin server. bandcamp and the brooklynvegan have had some great lists. my kid has recently discovered music is more than background noise in video games and thinks vinyl is cool though. he’s hooked hard on rise aginst so i’ve had to add the local record shop then ebay into the mix. my bank account isnt happy and i will likely buy badtimerecords entire vinyl catalog for myself now. dont let your kids get into vinyl folks its a fucking trap!
Adding to your list I still buy CDs and rip them too, although rarely nowadays. The independent music shop I went to as a teenager still exists (Schoolkids Records), although in a different location and they’re down to only 1 store.
Well, one thing I can say about YouTube Music is I’ve never heard any nameless Lo-Fi beat tracks. Every artist it’s ever played for me is real.
soulseek is the new napster
sail away
It’s only newer than napster by like 2 years. Napster started in 1999 and Soulseek in 2001. I wish I’d known about Soulseek back when I was fucking around with Kazaa and Limewire and shit after Napster died.
I use Spotify to conveniently stream an album to decide whether or not to download it into my ipod. Imo offline devices are, were and will keep being the best option (while on an airplane, on a road trip with no signal) and I get the feeling to own my music and to know the context of the artist I am listening to.
