Here’s an interesting article about Spotify’s music recommendation algorithm:
The surprising thing I learned from quitting Spotify
Vox | Ada Estes | https://www.vox.com/even-better/404896/spotify-youtube-apple-music-amazon-playlists
Spotify’s success key is the platform’s superior recommendation algorithm. What distinguishes Spotify is its 15-year archive of the user’s listening habits and an advanced algorithm that understands and reinforces personal tastes — something competitors like Apple Music failed to replicate (hmm?). Spotify’s strength lies in its hybrid use of content-based filtering (analyzing song attributes like genre, mood, and artist) and collaborative filtering (recommending music based on what similar users enjoy). With access to the listening patterns of 675 million users, Spotify can create surprisingly effective and serendipitous recommendations.
Lean-Forward Listening
The author introduces “Lean-forward listening”: by actively curating playlists, rejecting mismatches, and exploring music manually — enhances algorithm performance.
While it’s easy enough to click on Discover Weekly every Monday, lean back and listen to the whole thing like a radio show, and then move on to the next playlist, the more effort you put into curating your experience, the better the algorithms will work next time. At the very least, you’ll find your way onto a playlist that algorithms didn’t create.
This reminds me of a term called “nurturing an account” — the idea that users can intentionally browse content they’re interested in so that the algorithm learns to serve more relevant recommendations. You train the feed by feeding it what you want. Incentives, huh?