People used to primarily find music through the radio, which was always a problem for people with odd tastes in music and a distinct lack of nearby radios that played music you liked. My own fondness for the 1970s is entirely due to the oldies station being the only thing you could reliably get in a tractor that was not country music. The radio is not particularly personalized, as it is for everyone. If you typically like the most popular songs, this is fine; if you don’t, you aren’t going to find much there.
Spotify built a business on people wanting something tailored to them. Their marketing push was that people would get recommendations based on what they liked, and the more they listened, the more personalized it got. It’s an appealing idea, though there’s always this feeling that the service might be pushing you in specific directions. So long as you generally like the songs you hear, it’s not too suspicious. That is, until recently, when a publicity stunt got out of hand.
Drake released a new album, called Scorpion, on the Canada Day weekend. Spotify, like a friend who just discovered a new band, insisted everyone had to hear it. Drake headlined every product category and playlist. Want to praise the lord with Fresh Gospel? Here’s Drake. How about the best of British? Well, Canada recognizes the Queen, here’s Drake. Ambient Chill? How about Ambient Drake?
This stunt did not do Spotify any favors, as the service was roundly mocked for forcing Drake on its users. It also highlighted a problem with how people discover new music. If Drake is for everyone, how much are these playlists based on what we play? Is the service really reacting to the user? Are we stuffing less well known artists in a closet so we get more Drake? Frustration aside, is this really that different from regular radio, which was also playing Drake over the weekend?
It wasn’t worth it to Spotify, now embroiled in a controversy, and it wasn’t worth it to Drake, whose album would have been popular anyway. The entire thing is a silly mess that could have been avoided, but now people question if their playlists are a lie and they’re being lead down musical paths they wouldn’t otherwise travel down. For people not interested in the mainstream, what good is Spotify now, since they were just recommended the most mainstream artist out there? Finding new music has always been a challenge and this stunt just revealed that it has never stopped being a challenge. It’s possible it never will.
