40: All the things Spotify didn't want you to know but Liz Pelly found out
Feb 20, 2025
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Liz Pelly, a contributing editor at The Baffler and author of "Mood Machine," delves into her groundbreaking investigations into Spotify's practices. She reveals how mood-based playlists feature obscure, ghost artists diluting true artistic expression. Pelly discusses 'lean-back listening' and the troubling rise of algorithmic curation, which has shifted the landscape, affecting independent musicians. She also touches on Spotify's influence on music discovery and its implications for artist visibility and earnings in today's streaming era.
Liz Pelly's investigative work reveals Spotify's profit-driven operations, exposing how algorithmic curation impacts music discovery and artists' visibility.
The podcast discusses innovative ideas like creating ambient music for pets, illustrating the absurd yet commercially viable trends in today's streaming landscape.
Highlighting her experience at a music festival, the speaker emphasizes the diverse talent showcased and the evolving ways artists gain exposure through curated playlists.
Deep dives
Exploring Get-Rich Schemes
The discussion begins with the idea of crafting a get-rich scheme using existing knowledge and skills rather than learning something new. One suggestion involves creating engaging romantic literature, similar to popular airport novels, which could potentially lead to financial gain through sales or film options. The speaker acknowledges the success other authors have found in selling books without the need for them to be adapted into films. This conversation highlights the creative avenues individuals explore to monetize their existing talents.
Ambient Music as a Business Model
A notable idea is proposed about producing ambient music designed for pets as a profitable side venture. The concept revolves around creating ‘ambient slop’, a genre intended for streaming services that cater largely to calming playlists for animals. The speaker humorously reflects on how this idea seems prophetic, especially as ambient music for pets has gained popularity over the years, hinting at the absurdity of turning music into a commodity. This perspective sheds light on the innovative yet commercially driven approaches to music production in the current market.
Festival Insights and Musical Discoveries
The speaker shares experiences from a recent visit to a music festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where emerging European bands showcased their talent. Throughout the multi-venue festival, the speaker expresses excitement about discovering new artists while also grappling with the challenge of choosing between overlapping performances. A performance by the band Lancome stands out, blending Irish traditional music with influences from doom and black metal, illustrating the fusion of genres present at such events. This highlights the vibrant and diverse music scene that festivals can offer.
The Impact of Playlisting on Artists
Navigating the conversation surrounding Spotify and its influence on the music industry, there’s a focus on the significance of playlisting in an artist's success. Artists now often gauge their accomplishments based on their presence on specific playlists which has become crucial for driving streams and visibility. The speaker references the drastic shifts in how music is consumed, where curated playlists have eclipsed traditional forms of music discovery. This reliance on playlisting has fundamentally transformed the music landscape, creating new challenges and incentives for artists.
The Role of Technology in Music Consumption
The episode highlights the evolving interaction with music as technology increasingly automates listening experiences. There’s a critical observation that services like Spotify aim for a self-driving model of music discovery, where users might rely passively on algorithms. This shift raises concerns about the potential for an audience desensitized to artists and their work, merely focusing on curated playlists instead. The conversation calls into question the broader implications of how technology shapes music culture, challenging listeners to think critically about their consumption habits.
No journalist has contributed more to our understanding of the streaming era than Liz Pelly.
A contributing editor at The Baffler and a lifelong DIY scene participant, she’s been investigating the inner workings of Spotify since 2016, writing a series of increasingly alarming stories that exposed the streaming giant’s black box of profit-seeking operations: mood-based playlists filled with mysterious fake artists, lean-back listening, algorithmic curation and ‘streambait pop’.
It’s essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we came to live in a world where ‘coastal grandma’ is a genre and where ambient electronica playlists are filled with cheap stock music by unknown artists.
We asked Liz to explain the pivotal moments in this decade-long transition, whether Spotify has changed the sound of the underground too, and what Daniel Ek’s endgame might be. Get your hard hat on.
Elsewhere in this week’s episode, Chal runs down the best music she saw on a trip to Ljubljana’s MENT festival (3:49), we talk the films that could potentially tank a new relationship (9:47), Tom highlights a new release on CDR’s Pathways programme (13:00) and we even briefly discuss get-rich-quick schemes. Niche music recs and iffy financial advice? It could only be No Tags.
