How to break free of Spotify’s algorithm

To start I like to describe where music consumption is now. It's quite obvious to avid music consumers that you can create a better playlist yourself than could an algorithm. If you really wanted to sit down to create that perfect playlist for your day, you'd probably be able to do a pretty good job by yourself doing it. Spotify will do an okay job... See more

Spotify has already learned that there’s no money to be made with exclusive rights to superstar offerings. “After pouring billions into podcasts and audiobooks to little effect,” explains tech journalist David Pierce, “it seems to have largely given up on the idea that exclusive content is the path to riches.”

The more profitable move is to manipula... See more

Recommendations kills Favorites: AI-driven recommendations transcend our historical go-to’s. Rather than compulsively saving playlists that i discover and love on Spotify, I’ve surrendered myself to the algorithms. It was really the radio feature plus the new “enhance” feature that did it. I now trust that any song I like leads to a playlist I will... See more

This problem is almost impossible to fix in a culture that relies heavily on algorithms. The algorithm is, by definition, a repeating pattern that always looks backward. It does something in the future based on what worked in the past.

So the algorithm that recommends music or videos on a web platform will never deliver a totally fresh and new expe... See more