platforms, promotiom, product discovery --> Aguiar & Waldfogel, 2018 Flashcards
article in a nutshell - 2 points
digitization has vastly increased amount of new music available directly to consumers via streaming platforms
effects of spotify playlists on both promotion of songs and the discovery of music by new artists
playlists
informative
increase awareness among consumers
provide utility to listeners
- total satisfaction from good
spotify
prominent streaming platform
higher market share than radio in the digital era
playlists redflag
concentration of power
antitrust
- influence outcome for producers
- determine product success
- record label own stakes in spotify
spotify ownership stakes
spotify –> sony –> universal –> warner music
today’s top hit playlists - add known songs
curated + global
new music friday playlist - promotes discovery of new artists
curated + country-specific
global top hits playlist - plays top 50 songs of previous day
algorithmic + global
country specific top hit playlist
algorithmic + country-specific
streams before and after add and removal events at today’s top hits playlist
add = spike in streams
drop = drops in streams
trend followers and streams after inclusion on today’s top hits
spike in playlist inclusion
effect of appearing in new music friday curates playlist
being ranked #1 generates 14 million additional streams
drops steep the lower you go
widely known songs - key findings
todays top hit playlist raises streams by 19 million
algorithmic global top 50 playlist raises streams by 3 million
discovery of knew songs - key findings
curated new music friday - 14 million streams
songs remain on new music friday playlist for 7 days
labels - key findings
most of the benefit of global playlists accrues to us-origin major-label songs
new music friday playlists have larger representation from domestic and idenependent-label music
music homogenization - exp 1 and exp 2
not sorted by popularity 20% chance listening to most popular song
sorted by popularity 50% chance listening to most popular song
playlist fulfill the function of guiding mainstream audiences to discover new music - 3 points
sled-reinforcing feedback mechanism
–> more tracks added - faster chum - greater need for more tracks
reaction to songs being molded to appear on multiple playlists
playlist carpet bombing
–> acts want to get on as many playlists as possible for streams
–> releases are timed to have multiple impact points
spotify wanting to make in-house playlists
does not own the product but has power
in the future –> playlists may replace album as a format
in the future –> playlists may replace album as a format - pros
spotify shapes how music reaches the consumer
BUT consumer ultimately decided what gets on playlist
- spotify is watching
in the future –> playlists may replace album as a format
- cons
songwriters try to find aesthetic of audiences in certain playlists
