Music discovery algorithms don’t have to be AI slop. Some of them used to work effectively peer to peer based on likes.
You like songs, as does everyone else. The algorithm compares the songs you liked to what other people liked, finds people who liked a high percentage of the things you did, and recommends you other songs that they liked, and vice versa. Basically “Many people who liked [song you like] also liked [song you maybe haven’t heard]”.
I can recommend Listenbrainz as a recommendation service.
Everything a computer does may as well be magic to 99.9% of people.
I said “via algorithms and AI slop”, two seperate ways of finding music, “AI slop” meaning Spotify-style playlist nonsense.
Also, algorithms create feedback loops, where popular things get recommended more, even among specific niches.
True. But even that can be tackled in recommendation algorithms (or attempted). The main issue I see is that the companies that produce them don’t have their goals aligned with yours and rerank results to benefit their bottom line. That said, I’ve gotten much better recommendations for books, music and games from people online and friends than from any such system. Worst case the recommendation is not great and that is still an opportunity to talk to the person who recommended it.
With respect, that’s a bit like saying twitter doesn’t have to be a far right hate speech enabler. What something is, and what something could be, I’m afraid in this case are irreconcilable.
this doesn’t make much sense, since in reality there exist twitter alternatives that are indeed basically the same thing but without the endemic far right hate speech
Taking this moment to plug HEALTH for all the trans alt girlies. Thank me later 💜
Youtube’s algo has been pretty good at giving me artist/song recommendations… admittwdly after over a decade of liking and subscribing to a ton of bands on the platform. Brought me IDLES and Viagra Boys first LPs before anyone else, and just this week turned me on to Vancouver band PISS. They’re fucking raw, take heed of the lead’s warning before they start.
i feel like people are using “recommendations” in two different ways here:
One is what you’re talking about, where youtube just shows you some things it thinks you’ll enjoy and you click on whatever looks interesting; the other is a platform outright creating playlists for you.That said: even on youtube music i find the automatic “music you’ll like” playlist is perfectly okay most of the time. It does tend to be quite samey to what i’ve already listened to and rarely gives me anything that makes me go HOLY FUCK YES, but honestly i think that’s kind of what you want from a feature like that.
My playlist hasn’t been updated since the late 90s.
Me fr. I bet I could craft the perfect playlist, and never listen to anything else again. That actually sounds like pretty fun idea… maybe i could make a mixtape…
Ah, I used to have a transparent tape deck/radio. It was the height of 90s coolness.
Omg I love transparent electronics; they’re such a vibe! I might actually look for a second-hand one. It truly is peak coolness.
My bandcamp findings dump this year so far :3
- Mikaela Davis — Graceland Way
- Tara Clerkin Trio — Somewhere Good
- Smirk — Speculative Fiction
- Magic Tuber Stringband — Heavy Water
- Courtney Barnett — Creature of Habit
- Sarah Kinsley — Fleeting EP
- Father Dionysos Tabakis — Paradise Metal
- Ecca Vandal — LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW
- Rafael Anton Irisarri — Points of Inaccessibility
- Kelsey Lu — So Help Me God
- Underwater Sleep Orchestra — The Night and Other Sunken Dreams
Found my favourite album by scrolling new releases on Bandcamp: Plantoid - FLARE
Came back to say I bought this one last friday, thanks for the suggestion.
That’s nice to hear. I usually get tired of new music pretty quickly but I‘ve been listening to this album at least once a month since I bought it in February and still love it
Unfortunately I barely have friends
Making friends can be hard, but you’re already in a good place to make some (Fediverse).
Good Luck <3
I’ve been finding new music as last year I discovered a group that shares 50 songs a year, that’s been running since 2009. I actually already knew about it as artists I already follow are involved with the group, I just somehow never connected the dots until recently. This shit is gonna last me ages
Neil Cicierega’s Mouth Albums are all fire.
Triple-Q makes some real solid bangers.