Have you ever browsed through your music streaming apps main page and found one of the pre-made playlists? Perhaps you played one of them? Did you like what you heard? The fact is, those playlists are being closely watched by many and are catered by specialists that work for various music production houses.
Sometimes they are freelance trendsetters with a mission, others are doing making playlists with the sole purpose of selling moderation to the highest bidder once they reach a certain popularity threshold. Either way, those things are out there for you to find and follow. That way, moderators can sneak in something specific into the mix and boom! You just made someone earn money from royalties, or boosted the stats of an aspiring music-star. Business is business, baby and Zed’s dead.
Popular playlists
Remember the times when MTV had top [insert number] lists? Those were made by physically asking people whether they like the music or not. But even back then, the industry had its workings and squeezed some music, they wanted to be promoted. Now the algorithms do the asking and the industry squeezes some music, they want to be promoted. We wrote about the social media connection some time ago. That’s the part where your views count toward the popularity of big-time musicians. You thought they are made by humans, who want you to have an easy time finding music for your specific needs? Pft.
Your own playlists
Now, here’s where we shine. Future grandmas will tell their grandchildren: “Find your own playlists/heart #truth”.
Liking someone else’s playlists is nothing to be ashamed of and following the moderator’s choices in a nice way to show that you appreciate his or her taste in music. (some people love that) We only ask you to have at least one playlist of your own favourite tracks.
Why?
That’s exactly what makes music streaming platforms itch the industry. Your individuality. You can’t be used as a statistic that proves that they are right to reach for your money. If you don’t follow the playlist they made to force feed you the next “hit” album of some mumble-rapper, they can’t make you believe he’s good and worth listening. Your playlists define who you are. Don’t tell us you’ve never judged a person by their music taste.
Ever heard about fake musicians? It was a controversy about some of Spotify’s pre-made playlists. Catalogues of music for specific situations like “work” or “relax” had tracks made by music production houses owned by Spotify. That made them pay royalties…to themselves. Clever.
Closure
Yes, pre-made, promoted playlists are a tool of big industry giants to control the relatively new market of music streaming. Yes, they are manipulated, overseen and represent all the evil we thought we defeated with the new age of music distribution. They also have the tracks you might have heard, but forgot the title and the best place to look for them is in “trending”.
Love your playlists but not so in love with the streaming platform you’re using? That’s what our app is for!
