How Algorithms Changed Music Discovery-For the Worse
What Are You Missing?
What if your music app isn’t helping you discover new favorites—it’s keeping you trapped in a box? Imagine walking into a record store with endless options where the clerk only shows you what they think you’ll like. Would you blindly trust them?
I’m a Black man in my 30s who listens to a lot of rap and hip hop. You’d think that would give me access to a wide range of music, but here’s the catch: I could let Spotify’s Discover mode run for three days straight, and it would never suggest a song by Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish. That’s wild, considering they were Spotify’s most-streamed artists in 2024—#1 and #5, respectively.
How does that happen? The algorithm isn’t broken—it’s just hyper-focused on what it thinks I want. And that’s the problem.
How Algorithms Keep Us in Silos
Streaming platforms promise endless discovery, but often deliver déjà vu. They hand you the same songs, reshuffled, and call it a new experience. Have you ever played an album from an artist, let the algorithm take over after it ends, and realized it’s just replaying the same songs from the album with a few related tracks sprinkled in? It feels like being stuck in a loop, hearing the same echoes of what you just listened to, instead of discovering something fresh. Based on my streaming habits, the algorithm assumes I want to stay in my comfort zone, replaying my favorite hits and feeding me similar sounds. While I love my go-to tracks, I can’t help but wonder what I’m missing.
Think about it: Taylor Swift was the #1 artist on Spotify in 2024, yet she doesn’t even make a cameo in my recommendations. I’m not saying I’m trying to become a Swifty, but if I am never even offered any of her music, how would I know? How does that happen? The algorithm’s design prioritizes “safe bets” over broadening horizons, creating musical silos instead of cultural connections. It’s a feedback loop—and I’m stuck in it.
This isn’t just my experience. Algorithms all over the world are narrowing our musical landscapes, feeding us the same songs we’re already accustomed to and leaving little room for surprise. What once felt like an open door to new worlds now feels like a loop, with discovery turning into predictability.
The Death of Mass Curated Music
Back in the day, music discovery wasn’t a solitary act—it happened on the radio or shows like 106 & Park and TRL. And that was the beauty of it; we shared those moments.
You’d tune in for your favorite song or video, but before you got to it, you’d sit through a lineup of other tracks. You didn’t skip—you listened. That’s how I discovered everything from Brittany Spears’ “Oops!… I Did It Again” to other tracks I never went looking for. These weren’t songs I sought out, but they found me—and they stuck.”
Today, music isn’t curated for the masses—it’s curated for your ear alone. That sounds convenient, but it’s robbed us of the shared cultural experience that came with hearing a mix of artists and genres. In the past, we could talk about what we heard on the radio or what we saw on TV. Those shared experiences sparked conversations and connected us through music.
Now, our playlists are so personalized that some people even feel embarrassed to let their friends hear their true algorithm. Imagine riding in the car with friends, and instead of proudly sharing your latest playlist, you’re nervously skipping tracks because you’re afraid they’ll find out about that quirky song you secretly play on repeat in the shower. The algorithm has made music discovery private and isolating, rather than communal and celebratory.
The algorithm is efficient, but it lacks soul. It doesn’t take risks. It doesn’t care about expanding your horizons. And as a result, it’s leaving us all in musical silos.
What Are You Missing?
Algorithms are great for convenience, but they’re terrible for discovery. What incredible music might you be missing because an algorithm decided it wasn’t “for you”?
Break out of the algorithm’s loop. Take charge of your music journey and rediscover the thrill of finding something fresh and unexpected. Start with 6eorge’s Westside Blues—a track that defies the rules and takes you back to the soul of authentic music.
Listen to Westside Blues and more music by 6eorge and add something fresh to your algorithm by streaming a track from an artist that is breaking the mold.