Reading "Choke Point Captialism" by Cory Doctorow I learned that Spotify uses playlists to prioritize songs that cost less for them or pays out to artists they deal with. That notion, that the algorithm is more concerned with cash savings than serving you the songs you want to hear, really changed the way I think about these services -- and the idea of music recommendation writ large.
I currently subscribe to Apple Music, which I am sure is up to similar shenanigans. But to me their user front end is less egregious. It seems like Spotify barely wants to acknowledge that the 'album' is a thing. While Apple still offers me full records by artists I like or most like. This, currently, is the be scenario for my habits.
But yes, I would love a streaming service with a fully customizable front page a recommendation engine that allows the user to tweak the kind of suggestions they get, beyond the extremely vague "more of this or less of this" options.
I currently subscribe to Apple Music, which I am sure is up to similar shenanigans. But to me their user front end is less egregious. It seems like Spotify barely wants to acknowledge that the 'album' is a thing. While Apple still offers me full records by artists I like or most like. This, currently, is the be scenario for my habits.
But yes, I would love a streaming service with a fully customizable front page a recommendation engine that allows the user to tweak the kind of suggestions they get, beyond the extremely vague "more of this or less of this" options.