Why I Have Faith in Music in a Data-Driven World

With data playing an increasing role in music today, music will never be the same, but who said that change has to be bad?

Written by Lauren Johnson

Photo courtesy of Spencer Imbroc

Whether bonding with my mom over classic rock, listening to a playlist that a boy made to ask me to Homecoming in high school, or soaking in an artist’s music at a concert, music has always held an organic element to me, a passion that seems so incompatible with the impersonality of data or algorithms. Despite that, the modern age has arrived, and data is here to stay, even with music.

While I would have every reason to fear that the growing prevalence of data in music means the end of the beautiful human connection that music entails — trust me, I’m that person who always tells myself that my college degree in Management Information Systems will become useless because of AI — I’m here to tell you that the data and passion of music can coexist and even make each other better.

First, data has profoundly changed the way that I find concerts. There have always been a couple of artists whose tour dates I periodically check, but for the most part, I sporadically heard about concerts from friends or local venues. As the years have gone on, my Facebook feed has become more and more populated with personalized ads for concerts, and as much as it scares me, the ads are spot on in terms of my personal music tastes.

These ads have directed me to new artists and local venues, giving me the chance to make even more memories with music and friends. With some of these new music experiences stemming from data instead just my friends or more traditional media, my discovery of these different artists has altered completely. The value and emotion that those experiences hold, however, has stayed the same.

Data also increasingly defines an area of music once so personal: playlists. In this age of algorithm-curated playlist, none of us can deny that the way that we find music has changed. The Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify, among many more, uses our and our friends’ preferences, audio analysis, and text analysis to curate playlists for each user (learn more here). This is disconcerting, considering that playlists once were so organic.

But in reality, have we ever had control over our music consumption? Even before data started playing a part in what music we find, people played a significant role in what music we had access to. Radio station programmers, concert venue bookers, record store owners, and more were and continue to be gatekeepers in music distribution; data has just been added to that list. With data, however, music can more accurately be tailored to our personal tastes. The addition of data analytics in playlist consumption actually enhances our listening experience, rather than detracts from it.

While these uses of data make me feel comfortable about the future of music, there are some that make me less sure. There are algorithms that can predict how successful songs will be on Billboard charts and even ones that can make beats and compose symphonies. Technologies like these seem much more invasive into the creative process, but we have to remember that waves of advancement in the past have made people worry about music in the same way that we are now. Changes like streaming, pirating, TV, and, at one point, even radio revolutionized the music industry. Despite those changes, the creative process has persevered: we just need to wait and see how music will persevere now.

Even if the ways that we find music and music finds us are different, the way that it makes us feel and brings us together will never change.