The algorithms lack taste

I attended a number of live shows this year, which trumps years prior. This piece is a partial reflection of the disparity between live shows, particularly in the electronic music scene and the travesty of an attempt by big streaming(Spotify et al ) at replicating it.

A common rebuttal I hear when asking or encouraging folks to go see a live event is “why? I have good speakers at home.” This often comes from folks who haven’t attended any of these events. This is also not meant to criticize any of these people, but I do want to address the approach streaming services take to replicate the mixes you’d hear at a live event.

A good note I like to reference is an interview from Justice at Apple Music studio where they discuss how a challenge for them is learning how to play their songs live. Which sounded counterintuitive to me at first till I remembered a few of their live sets and how radically different it was from the albums.

In contrast to the sad state the streaming service that rhymes with botify is in I think a lot of the current algorithms lack the curation going to a live show exposes you too for instance, Justice would often pull songs from early in their career or a previous album and throw that into the set, as they did with the track generator on the hyper drama tour.

Similarly, if you were looking for more “niche”(I use that word very loosely here), you might think that a mix from your favorite streaming service might suffice, which is rarely the case.

For example if were looking for a pure GQOM mix there’s a good chance I won’t find a playlist which the platform claims is created for me, not because these tracks individually do not exist on the platform but because there is a certain je ne sais quoi that is required to curate a mix like that, similarly if I were looking for hardstyle or certain kinds of techno you’d get a few tracks before the playlist veers of into a generic selection of tracks.

As someone who cares about the type of music I listen to, a lot of streaming services over state what these features are capable of and underdeliver while also using your data to “refine their algorithms” in the process, which is a huge disservice for a platform I pay for.

I generally do not like complaining about things I don’t have a clear solution for or can help improve; however, this is not a technical deep dive into how the algorithms work, it’s a reflection on why that “DJ” or mix feature feels soulless. It’s taste. A lack of experience and the individual influence DJs bring to a performance or to a track selection.

Will the machines replicate this in the years to come? Who knows,for now I will be discovering tracks and sub-genres the way the maker intended, through experience, friends and if the odds are in my favour the very same recommendations i am calling out here