Why do people struggle to find new music with Spotify?

[u/wbrinegar10]

Have to be honest, I'm blown away whenever I hear people – and I hear it a lot – complain about Spotify offering repetitive content and/or their not being able to find new music with the platform.

Since it was unveiled in 2015, Discover Weekly has been just about the only feature I care to engage with on the app, and that's simply because it's so damn good I have no need for anything else beyond it and whatever saved albums/playlists I upkeep.

I have no idea if algorithms on other platforms have caught up to it because I have no reason to investigate, but the suggestions DW began offering shortly after I started using it annihilated all others.

From the advent of streaming music up to 2015, music suggestion tools had been so damn bad I'd all but given up on them. In the decade since DW, I haven't gone a single week without interesting, unique, quality suggestions from that playlist that run the gamut of genres and artists (both known and unknown to me) that speak precisely to my evolving, various music tastes.

So back to my original question... why do people struggle to find new music with Spotify?

[u/Melodic_Anteater6580]

It baffles me too. I find new stuff every single week, sometimes daily.

[u/Big-Environment-6825]

100% this. I was even suggested a band from 30 years ago that id never even heard of and they were pretty good.

[u/wbrinegar10 → u/Big-Environment-6825]

This happens all the time for all eras and genres. Bands/tracks with like a thousand streams, something I'd NEVER just come across. I hardly hear anyone talk about it.

[u/syllo-dot-xyz]

Because the "new" stuff is typically just similar stuff to everything you've heard before, it's the worst algorithm for discovering complementary sounds.

I think "Struggle" is a bit assumptive as a term, a bit like saying "why do people struggle to carry heavy shopping home". It just uses more effort, like discovering new music on spotify.

I'm sure there are people who want loads of similar sounds in their collection, but that's not me I guess.

[u/wbrinegar10 → u/syllo-dot-xyz]

"Worst algo" for discovering music is just so far off base in terms of what I've experienced in 2+ decades of streaming music and engaging with recommendation tools.

My finger is off the pulse these days, but only because DW consistently offers up unique, often deep cuts from artists spanning the popularity spectrum.

The irony of your take is when I've dug deeper into the tastes of those who find no use with Discover Weekly, it is nearly 100% because their idea of what "good music" is is so incredibly narrow as to render any recommendation tool useless. In fact, it's as though these people hold a distaste for ANY suggestion on what to listen to beyond some mysterious, esoteric personal discovery method that starts sounding increasingly self-flagellatory the longer you listen.

[u/syllo-dot-xyz → u/wbrinegar10]

"Worst algo" for discovering music is just so far off base in terms of what I've experienced

I think where you're going wrong, is you're assuming that my experience of music has to be the same as yours.

When I say it's the worst algo, I'm not speaking technically or scientifically, I'm saying for me personally it's the worst-algo.

If I specifically said "It's useless, it doesn't present music, it's slow and un-optimized" then sure, but I'm explaining to you my experience of using it with anecdotes, it's not really worth arguing about because you have a different preference.

Why do people struggle to find new music with Spotify?

I literally gave you my answer why I don't like it, it seems you just don't like my opinion.
It doesn't serve me the music I want.

their idea of what "good music" is is so incredibly narrow as to render any recommendation tool useless

Well, my taste is super broad, not that you'd be able to tell (same with these other people you're speculating about). in fact the whole point of my label/radio is to catalogue the widest cross-section of dance music into a single umbrella

[u/wbrinegar10 → u/syllo-dot-xyz]

Why do people on the internet always fall back on "stop trying to make me feel like you"? No one is doing that. You're telling me your experience. I'm telling you mine. By engaging in this thread, you've sat at the table to talk about this, so I think where you're going wrong is assuming I'm trying to do anything other than understand your position. That doesn't mean you adopt my position or I yours.

All I've done is note an ironic twist I've experienced with folks who seem to engage with music in a way like you. If that's not right or doesn't fit your particular situation, that's fine. I certainly don't believe it's that way for everyone. I just haven't heard anything that makes me go, "oh, that's a perspective I haven't heard on this yet." That's all.

I'm not sure what else there is then, unless you're trying to make me feel like you??

[u/syllo-dot-xyz → u/wbrinegar10]

I've not even said how I engage with music, so I dont know why you're commenting on "folks who seem to engage with music in a way like you".

You're all good with opinions on Spotify, same with me, but it's this weird assumption/speculation stuff which doesn't make sense. Perhaps I assumed too much that you think my opinion is "wrong" so I'll take that back.

I'm just not really part of this "group" you are imagining, I'm just an individual.

[u/wbrinegar10 → u/syllo-dot-xyz]

Hey, we got there!

"What's up with this?" "Here's my take." "Sounds like my personal experience." "I don't think so." "Okay."

The internet has completed its first normal conversation.

[u/lunaticskies]

Probably boring picky people that don't actually enjoy hearing new things?

[u/Holiday-Sorbet-2964]

I've never ventured onto other sites to see if its easier to find new music, but I find Spotify difficult because I change genres so frequently that it cannot keep up. I understand their algorithm just isn't designed for that, but its discouraging to find new music when it's giving me tons of 90s rock when I'm currently into folk.

[u/i_be_illin]

Discover weekly has been garbage for me. I listen to a very diverse set of genres but listen to a lot of hip hop. It thinks I’m really, really into 60’s and 70’s soul I guess because of all the samples from hip hop records.

[u/Remote_Water_2718]

Clicking on songs and previewing 12 seconds, skipping around, then maybe adding it to a Playlist to maybe listen all the way from the beginning, that sucks for me.  I feel so uninterested and it makes music seem trivial.  I used to looooove Spotify,  and browsing for random niche things like 1930s jazz, or vibraphone classical and stuff.   I did that for about 10 years maybe?   But now I want a curated mix, I want music to feel like its news, like it was in the late 90s, when music seemed like this powerful force that nobody could ignore.   Right now music just feels like random beggars trying to bother people to helping support thier careers.  It's all really lame.

[u/Dear_Biscotti_6695]

There was a tool I used to use, I forget what it was called, where it would say “songs like xyz” and you would click on it and it would play like the best 30 seconds or so of the selected songs. I liked when I wanted to find something new quickly and didn’t have to commit to a whole song to see if I liked it or not. I don’t think they offer it anymore though because I haven’t seen it but it was awesome