Mood based surveillance - Spotify

[Ashenden]

This article didn't come as a surprise, but it is a troubling fact that music as an art form is slowly degrading. With modern music, music as an art form has been reduced to a commodity and now with streaming services based on big data the commodity is the user's listening pattern. Hmmm....

Big Mood Machine | Liz Pelly

Inside Spotify’s emotional surveillance-driven quest for total ad domination.

thebaffler.com

 

[Deleted member 15865]

I see that as a positive development. Building psychographics from music listening patterns to target advertising is brilliant! Let’s accept that the new cloud based digital age will track and make use of usage data. That’s how they provide us the goodies at throwaway prices. It’s a world with fewer secrets. Like it or not. So as well start using the benefits. Also, if you are anyway going to be spammed with ads by Facebook, Google etc, it very well be ones of yourinterest.

As for the feelings about art form being reduced to commodity, I sympathise with you. But that’s happening in all fields - with premier leagues (cricket/sports), tweets (broadcasting), Instagram (experiences, memories), JEE coaching academies substituting junior colleges (education), and so on

 

[Ashenden]

I see that as a positive development. Building psychographics from music listening patterns to target advertising is brilliant! Let’s accept that the new cloud based digital age will track and make use of usage data. That’s how they provide us the goodies at throwaway prices. It’s a world with fewer secrets. Like it or not. So as well start using the benefits. Also, if you are anyway going to be spammed with ads by Facebook, Google etc, it very well be ones of yourinterest.

It's OK if the analytics stay within the company(though I don't like it ). But when these firms start selling user data to outside brokers, it becomes an altogether different issue. Same holds true in the event of a merger/acquisition with another firm, when the policies change.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

It's OK if the analytics stay within the company(though I don't like it ). But when these firms start selling user data to outside brokers, it becomes an altogether different issue. Same holds true in the event of a merger/acquisition with another firm, when the policies change.

Hmm, agree. That’s where the related fields - eg corporate laws, auditing, etc have to keep evolving to meet the newer challenges. Generally one has seen these professions (law, accounting, auditing etc.) lag business management by at least a generation.

 

[Ashenden]

As for the feelings about art form being reduced to commodity, I sympathise with you. But that’s happening in all fields - with premier leagues (cricket/sports), tweets (broadcasting), Instagram (experiences, memories), JEE coaching academies substituting junior colleges (education), and so on

This video from PBS studios will indicate to what extent music producers have commoditized their offerings. It's a very troubling direction the industry is taking, IMHO

 

[amitk777]

I usually listen to Khaiyyam, RD Burman of the 80s.
Till date Spotify has not figured out that preference. Old songs are very hard to find. I have not understood Spotify's AI yet. .

 

[Ashenden]

I usually listen to Khaiyyam, RD Burman of the 80s.
Till date Spotify has not figured out that preference. Old songs are very hard to find. I have not understood Spotify's AI yet. .

As they were the last to enter the Indian music streaming market, a lot of the good music from the 70-80s are missing. Gaana/Google play will be a better choice

 

[Deleted member 15865]

I usually listen to Khaiyyam, RD Burman of the 80s.
Till date Spotify has not figured out that preference. Old songs are very hard to find. I have not understood Spotify's AI yet. .

Spotify is horrible with its metadata on Indian albums, especially film music. Firstly, unlike Apple Music, they don’t differentiate between album artist and track artist. So there’s always a confusion between the composer (music director) and the artist (singer). There’s also no consistency in this.

My personal experience with Spotify’s touted ability to gauge your preference has been poor so far. Over 80% of the songs it shows in the daily mix for me are what I heard recently. And of the rest, most seem to be the result of a poor algorithm.

Apple Music was far better in these respects. But it’s sound quality doesn’t match up to Spotify’s, especially when used through Spotify Connect.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

This video from PBS studios will indicate to what extent music producers have commoditized their offerings. It's a very troubling direction the industry is taking, IMHO

Commercial considerations (of different kinds) have played on the artists’ minds in every era. It is upto the artists themselves to decide whether to fall for it or maintain the integrity of their music and believe that the followers would grow steadily and be retained.

Yes, streaming music has made it easier for a much larger number of artists to make ‘some’ money (and more importantly, get exposure), but has also made bigger artists more difficult to make ‘big’ money through music sales. It’s kind of socialistic in a way .

The bigger artists will have to explore alternate modes of making bigger money - brand endorsements for example. Or merchandise. One major source of income could be live performances. The experience of a live performance can never be replaced by reproduced music. If you look at major Indian artists across genre (Ghazals in the past, Rock/pop now, classical and film always) do a number of concerts every year across the globe. The recorded music becomes more like a promotion to attract listeners to live performance.

 

[Ashenden]

Commercial considerations (of different kinds) have played on the artists’ minds in every era. It is upto the artists themselves to decide whether to fall for it or maintain the integrity of their music and believe that the followers would grow steadily and be retained.

Yes, streaming music has made it easier for a much larger number of artists to make ‘some’ money (and more importantly, get exposure), but has also made bigger artists more difficult to make ‘big’ money through music sales. It’s kind of socialistic in a way .

The bigger artists will have to explore alternate modes of making bigger money - brand endorsements for example. Or merchandise. One major source of income could be live performances. The experience of a live performance can never be replaced by reproduced music. If you look at major Indian artists across genre (Ghazals in the past, Rock/pop now, classical and film always) do a number of concerts every year across the globe. The recorded music becomes more like a promotion to attract listeners to live performance.

I feel streaming will be the most popular way of listening to music moving forward. So the youth of today who start with that, will have their understanding of music limited due to such practices. The other ways to experience music will be the exception, and not the norm, due to several constraints, again IMO