How Spotify's Algorithm Works (From Its Creator)

Enrollment closes soon for Ari's Take Academy! Save 10% with code NMB and enroll: https://aristakeacademy.com/ Glenn McDonald was Spotify’s data alchemist and the creator of the music exploration site Every Noise at Once. He writes things for people about how humanity and technology co-exist, and things for computers about how to cope with not being human. He wrote a weekly music review column called The War Against Silence for ten years, tabulated the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop music critics’ poll for several years, and was part of the music-intelligence start-up The Echo Nest, which was eventually acquired by Spotify. He believes that music is the thing humans do best, and that bringing all the world’s music together online is one of the greatest cultural achievements of his lifetime. His book explaining why is being published by Canbury Press in 2024. This week, Ari and Glenn McDonald discuss his role as a data alchemist and his work on the Every Noise at Once genre map. McDonald shares insights into the creation and maintenance of the Every Noise genre map, which categorizes over 6,000 genres and subgenres. He also discusses the evolution of Spotify playlists, from editorial to personalized, and the impact of algorithmic programming. They explore the impact of algorithmic recommendations on artists and fans, as well as the challenges of detecting fraud and bot attacks. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 08:30 Creating the Every Noise Genre Map 19:54 Personalized Playlists and Algorithmic Programming 32:25 Fans Also Like and its Evolution 37:06 The Challenges of Algorithmic Recommendations 41:30 The Limitations of Detecting Fraud 47:56 The Mystery of Sudden Streaming Spikes 01:00:19 Glenn McDonald's Book and Future Plans Subscribe to The New Music Business: https://aristake.com/new-music-business-podcast/ Ari's Take Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com Watch more discussions like this: https://bit.ly/3LavMpa Connect with Ari’s Take: Website: https://aristake.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.take X: https://twitter.com/ArisTake Threads: https://www.threads.net/@aristake_ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1 Connect with Ari Herstand: Website: https://ariherstand.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstand X: https://twitter.com/ariherstand YouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand Connect with Glenn McDonald : Every Noise: everynoise.com Furia: furia.com X: https://twitter.com/glenn_mcdonald LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-mcdonald-ab3b36/ Edited and mixed by Ari Davids Music by Brassroots District Produced by the team at Ari’s Take Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.