Welcome back to Jamwise!
You have no idea how badly I wanted to actually call this newsletter Jamwise Gamgee. No idea. It would have been so perfect and now I can’t unhear it. It’ll have to be like my dog, who has a “name” but also has a thousand other extended names that are how I actually think of her. And sing songs about her. Ahem, anyways…
Why Music Curation is Becoming a Critical Skill
Music curation skills are important if you want to find good music. It’s as simple as that. There are a million ways to find new music. Whether you rely on curators or algorithms or you do it yourself, the ability to sort good music from bad is more important than ever before. Because even if you had the perfect curation algorithm, you would still need to listen to and like the music for it to mean anything - meaning your ability to listen and find things you like is always the most important.
But what I’ve learned is that no algorithm will really predict what resonates with you, especially when those algorithms are run by companies motivated to keep you listening, not necessarily to keep you happy. Even curators, as great as they can be, aren’t motivated by making you specifically happy. The people who care most about keeping you happy are on this list: you.
And none of the music curation services are bad, I’m just saying they fulfill a specific function, and that function is not to keep you (First name last name you) happy. And that’s fine! As long as you’re aware that your favorite influencer isn’t curating music only for you, and that they have other (perfectly legitimate) motives, you’ve won the battle.
Spotify’s product (like most streaming services, including social media) is an attention-grabbing mix of the most potent individual songs they can find, the ones that will keep you listening the longest. Their success is measured in minutes listened, not by how happy those minutes make you, the listener.
And don’t misunderstand me - Spotify’s recommendation service is an AMAZING product. But it’s not what I’m personally looking for all the time. Spotify’s algorithms will suggest the low-risk tracks that I’m 99% guaranteed to love. It won’t take risks on new stuff I’m not as familiar with that might make me stop listening if I don’t like them. That’s just not the way it’s geared.
It’s of course possible to deep dive an artists’ library more than ever on Spotify at a much lower cost than the days when we had to buy CD’s or records. This is just another part of the amazing wealth of music access we have these days. My point is that it pays to remember that algorithmic products are geared towards shallow listening rather than deep, and if you want a different experience, you’ll have to work a little to get it. In other words, you’ll have to curate a little for yourself, or find others you trust to do so for you.
Another weak point in the algorithmic music approach (and curators, sometimes) is the lack of historical perspective. Sure, you can easily get the algorithm to bring you the best hits of the 70’s, and again this is excellent for certain purposes. The same is true of many music recommenders - they will often get more clicks and reads by promoting the new stuff, which is why many do just that.
But what I worry about is that aside from the top 0.005% of tracks that appear in the “Best of the 70’s” playlists, there are hundreds of other artists being forgotten. I’ve already found some fantastic songs from the 70’s that I’d never heard of before. That makes me sad, especially because it seems so preventable.
I worry that this effect will get worse and worse as the generations go on, and that one day young people might not even realize a band called Big Star ever existed, despite the awesome nature of their music. They might view the 70’s the way I currently view the 20’s - I can tell you about Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and that’s literally all. 2 artists survive in my mind from that time period.
The difference now, however, is that all of the music of the recent and current generations is digital and relatively easy to access compared to that of the 20’s, and technological innovations will only make that access easier. That means the younger generations, starting with mine, have a unique mix of a massive library of music from before our times, along with unprecedented access to that music. There’s no excuse to forget where our current favorite songs came from - that would be like living in a library and scrolling on TikTok all day instead of reading a book. Sure, today’s stuff will likely resonate better day-to-day, but it’s just a waste of great music to ignore the old stuff.
It’s our job to find our individual balance between knowing the history of our music and listening to what we like. There’s no perfect percentage of old stuff to listen to or learn about, but I would make a strong case that, no matter who you are or what you like, that percentage should never be zero.
So be aware of how the algorithm is shaping your tastes. Listen to old stuff when you can, and listen deeply to new stuff you like. Not because you have to listen to old music to be respected, not because you need to know every word of a band’s catalog to be a “real” fan, and certainly not because music just ain’t that good anymore, because it absolutely is.
Do it because it’s fun.