The most popular streaming platform in the world is now entirely uninterested in music. Opening Spotify, you still see music, of course, but it is overshadowed by cross-posted video essays from Youtube, random audiobooks and “alpha male” podcasters. Two examples are embedded below. Bafflingly, DMs, comment sections, group chats and short-form videos--- hallmarks of social media like Instagram--- are all currently present in Spotify’s mobile app as the company attempts to pivot from a streaming platform to a content machine designed to keep users scrolling for hours. Spotify’s autogenerated playlists are worse than ever, recycling an incredibly limited number of tracks under bizarre monikers like “Bilingual Rizz Friday”. Many instrumental playlists created by Spotify attempt to sneak AI-generated music past the listener’s notice. Popular lo-fi hip-hop playlists, for example, are almost entirely composed of “artists” with no name, picture or any history outside of Spotify. This leaves music listeners in a predicament. We could switch to another streaming service, but I’m confident we’ll see Apple Music adapt these same measures if they prove to be profitable for Spotify. So how do we, as individual listeners, protect human-created music and art? Here are a few ways I’ve tried to improve my experience as a listener and appreciator of music.
1) Investing in a collection
Yes, it is expensive. This is not a feasible option for many people, and I understand that quite well. However, for those who can afford it and are passionate about music, starting a physical collection is one of the best ways to own and protect the music you care about. Whether it's CDs, records, tapes or even MP3s on an old iPod, ownership is a way to keep your music. It also provides the desired artistic experience. Artists in the 1960s and 1970s recorded for vinyl, knowing that vinyl would be the primary format listeners experienced. The Beatles’ Abbey Road, for a much-cited example, begins Side B with “Here Comes The Sun”, requiring the listener to physically turn over the record and “earn” the sound of the sunrise after Side A. Many small nuances of physical media are lost in the digital conversion of albums. Purchasing physical music (or MP3s) is also much better for the musical ecosystem. Buying from the artist directly is the best way to financially support them, and purchasing vintage records/CDs from small businesses helps your local music scene survive. Don’t let Spotify (or any other streamer) be your only method of listening to music if you can help it.
2) Not being afraid to be a little pretentious
Please be passionate about the music you enjoy! Over the last few years, we’ve obsessed over judging each other in relation to media consumption. Know too little, or seem insincere, and you’re performative. But if you know too much or come across as too passionate, you’re pretentious. The ideal balance seems to be someone who cares just enough to know the basics but is not passionate enough to be alienating. This fear of judgment keeps people from expressing or exploring their true passions in music. Don’t be afraid to dive deeper and truly enjoy your interests. Read books detailing the history of your favorite bands, share the music you love with people and drop the ideas of performativity or pretension.
3) Talking to people
Music should be a communal experience. Invite your friends to shows and share your records. Let people know about your musical interpretations and what you take away from albums you’ve listened to. We now primarily interact with music as background noise or ways to vaguely signal emotion, like through an Instagram note, both of which are individual activities. I’ve met some of my closest friends and even gotten to know my family better through discussing music. The Spotify algorithm is widely known to be awful for music discovery, and while people have suggested various solutions, the best way to find new music is through your friends. In a time when everyone is lonelier than ever, we should use everything we can to try and connect with one another.
4) Embracing inconvenience.
All of this is inconvenient and occasionally annoying, especially when compared to opening an app and tapping once to listen to an auto-generated playlist that approximately matches your mood. That inconvenience, though, is what gives your music its meaning. Flipping through your record or CD collection, listening to an album in full, anything that increases the time you spend with your music, will give it deeper meaning. Spotify and streaming apps aim to consolidate all music into the endless stream of online content, hence its position next to “brain rot” short form videos and needlessly lengthy video essays. AI music is the zenith of convenience; no instrument to practice, no song to write, not even an artist to work with. It is engineered to be appealing. If we only prioritized convenience in our music, there simply would not be any human-created music. Understanding and embracing limitations and annoyance is oftentimes how we engage with art.
In short, love your music! If you are tired of social media algorithms dictating your preferences and what you listen to, make a change. You’ll be thankful you did.