Spotify & "Song Radio" is Essentially Just an Echo Chamber & Doesn't Breed Discovery

[cawul]

This hasn't always been the case, and I don't know if this has to do with the amount of time I've had my Spotify account or if something about the algorithm has drastically changed - but whenever I start a radio based off a song or artist (which is with the intention to find a NEW artist or NEW music that is related to the song/artist I'm starting the radio off of) it just creates essentially a playlist of music I've been listening to - and not even within the same genre off the song.

I've realized that I haven't found any new artists or any new music, and just continuously listen to the same things over and over again which is quite depressing. The point of the song radio or at least how I use it is to discover new artists that are in the same realm of the artist I'm listening to, and I think you all at Spotify are putting everyone - artist AND listener - at a huge detrimental disadvantage by having it go that way because then there is no discovery for new artists and there is no way for listeners to get into new music without scouring the platform instead of giving good recommendations based off your algorithm. More than anything I want to be able to discover new artists based off song radio, not just hear the same songs I've been listening to. If I wanted to listen to those songs, I would just continue to listen to them. Especially since maybe when I start a song radio off something that is midwest-emo/indie, it'll still play hyperpop/rap in the same playlist which are two completely different genre's and moods.

[spottyy]

Spotify has changed its algorithm, boosting artists who cut their royalties and said this about it:

"We’re testing this to make sure it’s a great experience for both listeners and artists. To start, we’ll focus on applying this service to our Radio and Autoplay formats, where we know listeners are looking to discover new music. As we learn from this experiment, we’ll carefully test expanding to other personalized areas of Spotify."

Spotify, we don't like the change. It's not a great experience for us listeners when we use song radio to discover new music, only to have a list of songs we already listen to not even related to that song. Many of us have noticed a drop in quality without knowing why. I find myself getting tired of listening to the same music and wanting to branch out more but finding it much harder to. 

The best thing about Spotify that set it apart from other streaming services was its top tier algorithm. How easy and accurate it was at finding new music you'd like. And now you've gone and messed it up. 

I also feel for artists who need to cut their royalties just to be seen and the artists who can't afford to do that in the first place. 

[Captjackaubrey]

Loved the old algo for finding new music. Not what it used to be 

[merylodrama]

I've had the exact same thought recently, it just keeps playing the same songs over and over again after i finish an album, i remember switching from Apple Music to Spotify in 2019 and being blown away by the amount of new music i was discovering EVERY SINGLE TIME i finished listening to something.
I think this is a really sad removal, i need to discover new music RELATED to what i just listened to !

[HansJuergen]

Thank you very much for this post. I've been with Spotify since the beginning and I've been very satisfied so far. For me, it was also important to use another provider besides well-known providers and big companies like Apple and Amazon.
But with the change of the song radio I will now quit Spotify and leave Spotify. Because I am not convinced that Spotify will take back this change, which corresponds to a paradigm shift. It is a great pity that this big change and the shutdown is one of the most important ways for me to listen to music.

[RobMexx]

That’s the final nail in the coffin, for me, to migrate to Apple Music. The past 7 years have been a blast but this was the last and best feature that was holding me here.

[MrBue]

I also think it's a shame that Spotify is changing its algotithm. That's exactly what kept me with Spotify for the last few years.

In the meantime, I find everything better in Apple Music, except for the new recommendations. But now that this has also been changed, I will probably finally leave Spotify and switch to Apple Music.

[DanEastwood]

Changing the radio feature to a simple „echo“ is a total B.S. idea!!

Switch it back to the old function or I will be switching to Amazon or Apple Music!

I am totally mad!! 🤬

[ZeroedByte]

PLEASE, SPOTIFY, LISTEN TO US!!! 

This has become a very sore subject for me. I used to enjoy finding new music that was similar to the playlists I'd created. Now it just blends all my "on repeat" stuff into EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! I used to be able to have a playlist for my two co-workers in my office. I could just do playlist radio for each of their playlists on their music days and everyone was happy. Now, I try to play one of their lists, which is nothing but 80s hair metal, and I get a 2014 song from a comedy artist I follow? How, how does this make sense. It doesn't. It used to work, now it doesn't. You've "fixed" something that was never broken. 

[austinbucholtz]

I thought it was just me! Song radio regularly has maybe 5 songs that aren't also on my On Repeat already, I went there to find something new! 

[lunarsappho]

I thought I was crazy for feeling like I was using Pandora all over again. If I want to listen to the same songs, I'll do so by choice, in my Liked Songs.