Escaping Spotify’s algorithm | MIT Technology Review

“Spotify’s music database has a very rich set of various parameters, markup, and categories to classify music in a very detailed way. This is simply not exposed in the official app,” he says. He believes that even though it has a sophisticated way of sorting music, Spotify intentionally oversimplifies: Its library offers mainly personalized playlists drawing on broad categories like “metal” or “party,” many of which feature mostly “popular artists or songs you heard 1,000 times.” 

Antenna points out that beyond genres such as bedroom pop or indie folk, Spotify offers a plethora of microgenres (such as “reminimal” and “sky room”) that are accessible only by name through its API. He hopes that by surfacing genres that more accurately represent an artist’s sound, a system as granular as Unchartify can combat algorithmic anxiety. 

Unchartify reorganizes Spotify’s database by sorting all genres into alphabetical order—something unheard-of in today’s world of engagement optimization—and mapping them so that each album is a node connecting to a list of similar albums. Unlike Spotify’s “Fans also like” feature, which recommends similar artists without suggesting where their similarity lies, Unchartify offers a precise picture of where an album sits musically in relation to others. 

Unless specifically asked, Unchartify doesn’t try to guess what you’re looking for. Instead, it gives you the tools to surf Spotify’s database systematically, as you might sift through archives in a public library. Antenna’s position reveals an important source of tension in the world of on-demand music: Making the abundance of content online digestible requires simplification, but simplification often forgoes nuance. 

Beating the algorithm

Going a step beyond Antenna’s archaic decision to list genres alphabetically is Radiooooo, a self-described musical time machine that randomizes the discovery process by eliminating genre entirely. 

Founded in 2012 by a group of four DJs, Radiooooo curates a selection of songs for each decade dating back to the 1900s for each country across the globe. It prompts users to select music by time periods and geographic locations rather than genres or artists—discarding any semblance of our current streaming experience and inspiring a new way of thinking about music. Radiooooo also tacks on a social component by crediting members who’ve discovered the track, joining communities like Music League and Oddly Specific Playlists in encouraging a form of crowdsourced recommendation that invites conversation and disagreement—a far cry from Spotify’s vision of optimized, unimpeded listening. 

Perhaps the only way to escape our algorithmic bubbles is by building community. When we welcome diverse patterns of music consumption, we’re challenged to consider music from different perspectives, the same way independent radio stations curate to tell a story rather than cater to a demographic. There’s nothing to optimize in a community, and in turn, nothing to oversimplify. 

Despite functionally contradicting Spotify’s philosophy, platforms like Radiooooo, Music League, Oddly Specific Playlists, and independent radio all complement the use of such platforms. They act as a springboard for our process of discovery, helping us step past Spotify’s insistence on personalization by directing us where to look and, most important, making it fun. 

McDonald likens the functions of Spotify to Google Maps. “Google Maps doesn’t do the exploration for me, but it’s helpful if I go somewhere,” he says. Rather than taking us on guided tours, it provides the tools for us to navigate somewhere new. Much as it shows us what’s nearby and how to get there, and flags notable landmarks others have visited, Spotify helps us access most music, lists global listening trends, and introduces us to artists similar to those we already know. But it’s communities that help us home in on a destination Spotify can help us explore.

Rage against the machine

Four music discovery services to help you explore beyond Spotify’s AI-generated playlists