Story by Noelle Harff
From Charlie XCX’s viral success to the role of metadata in shaping Spotify’s playlists, we dive into how artists and listeners navigate this new digital landscape.
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HARFF: This summer, Charlie XCX released an album called brat, and it totally broke the internet. Brat drew more 47 million on demand official streams, which is kind of huge considering her last album, Icona Pop, was released in 2013.
HUGO: “That whole campaign was genius. Hi, I’m Hugo. I’m from Los Angeles, and I’ve been working in music for the past couple months. I guess there’s kind of like, this dualism of like, is the artist thinking about what will go viral on Tiktok while he’s making the song? And I wonder if you could ask that question, like, 20 years ago, like, What song would go most popular? Like, what music video go most popular on MTV? I feel like it’s just a cycle, and the format is just changing. You know, Video Killed the Radio Star. I think Tiktok killed the Video Star, which is a crazy way to put it.”
HARFF: Going viral on Tiktok means getting more plays on Spotify and ultimately more money for the artist. The point is, these algorithms are powerful.
MORRIS: “My name is Jeremy Morris. I do research on music and the music in the music industry, more generally. So as of late, that’s meant a lot of thinking about Spotify, thinking about the way that Spotify delivers music to bands and listeners.”
HARFF: First, the algorithm looks at artist sourced metadata. This technical word basically means the song title and instruments used. Then the algorithm considers the Sonic character of the piece from a zero to one scale. The system considers 12 different metrics, mapping everything from danceability, averaging tempo and rhythm stability, to valence, describing the positivity of the track based on chord progression. Utilizing this metadata, Spotify can understand a song.
MORRIS: “The Discover Weekly type playlists, right, which are almost pure, algorithmically based, right? It ends up, as you know, it’s like 50 songs, but it’s a very complicated path that each of those 50 songs take to getting onto that onto that list. And sometimes you know why, and sometimes you’re still kind of left guessing.”
HARFF: That algorithmic uncertainty, that chance, has fostered hope for many young artists.
HUGO: “A question that I feel like always comes up when I’m talking to people about music is, like, with the Beatles really market on Tiktok, like, That’s so crazy. At the same time you’ve now given access to anyone, and I think that hope and that chance is also a really beautiful thing.”
HARFF: I’m Noelle Harff, reporting.
