Rise of an Anti-Algorithm Music Counterculture [Mark Mulligan]

Music has always adapted to the culture enabled by its dominant format . When radio was king, you needed to grab attention in the first 15 seconds or risk getting skipped. But radio DJs were gatekeepers who could champion unique picks to their taste if they believed in them. When Jay-Z and Kanye West 's “Otis” premiered in 2011, Funkmaster Flex pla... See more

(I told someone recently that the specific joy of stalking someone else’s Spotify account has been lost as more and more playlists are generated by the platform. It’s the opposite of intimacy, isn’t it? To stalk an algorithm? Like climbing a tree to look into your crush’s window and realizing someone else got there first...please don’t do this.)