Re:A few things I’ve come to believe in my years in music tech
by heavyset_go on Tuesday December 07, 2021 @07:45PM
(#29480096)
> The algorithms are good at guessing that if I like the Zombies, I'll like the Turtles (which is true) but it never jumps to (for instance) current, contemporary indie/DIY stuff that is influenced by '60s rock and '70s punk. I make those associations all the time. Indie/college radio DJs do it all the time, but Spotify never does.
Last.fm is really good about this. I can't stand Spotify recommendations in comparison because of this exact problem.
I'm perfectly capable of Googling "bands like X" and gleaning a surface-level idea of similar artists, which seems to be the extent of Spotify recommendations. Meanwhile, Last.fm is programmed well enough that it goes beyond the surface-level recommendations, and finds things I would never have found otherwise. I'm talking about bands and side-projects that broke up 30 years ago and only released a demo tape, but that demo tape is gold to fans of band X.
Last.fm is really good about this. I can't stand Spotify recommendations in comparison because of this exact problem.
I'm perfectly capable of Googling "bands like X" and gleaning a surface-level idea of similar artists, which seems to be the extent of Spotify recommendations. Meanwhile, Last.fm is programmed well enough that it goes beyond the surface-level recommendations, and finds things I would never have found otherwise. I'm talking about bands and side-projects that broke up 30 years ago and only released a demo tape, but that demo tape is gold to fans of band X.