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.

[cawul]

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[Smo16]

I love the create radio function. It has let me discover many new songs. I think that the algorithm for this is extremely limited. It can be so much more than it is. I think it should be expanded and explored.

For example when you create a station off a song, it makes a short playlist that is “similar” to the song you suggested. With the current capacity of AI technology I think this function can be improved substantially. It should make longer playlists with more complexity.

I personally use this function to discover new music. I would assume other people do as well. When I create a “station” my aim is to hear new things that are similar to the song I Iiked. My personal experience with this is that the stations it creates at a certain point are mostly limited to songs that I have already discovered. My aim is to eliminate this. So maybe there could be a function where when you create a radio you can chose whether or not you want the “radio” to Include songs you have already listened to? That way discovery of new music can be way more mainstreamed.

my suggestion is to add more (human?) intelligence to the current AI Algorithm for creating a station.

Music is a beautiful complex thing so I know that a robot/ computer cannot fully compute the minute details of it. 

The AI needs to be updated to accommodate the human component of exploring and finding new music. 

[gsusser]

When I allow the app to play songs based on my listening, favorites and likes, I get an unbelievable amount of repetition. It's not like Spotify doesn't have sufficient data about my listening - for the past year or so, I listen on average an hour a day and have chosen a wide range of genres and likes and favorites. Yet the app still keeps repeating the same stuff. AI seems to still be in its infancy on Spotify. 

[Musicaholic800]

Please fix the recommended songs feature after finishing a playlist.

It will ALWAYS play some songs already in that playlist.

Please allow recommended songs to view our whole account so it ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS NEW SONGS based on the last playlist.

[sunstartle]

Concur! If I'm looking at recommended songs based on a playlist, I don't want to look at songs that are already on the playlist - I want to find songs to add to it.

[1227498732]

If you read this article:
https://harpers.org/archive/2025/01/the-ghosts-in-the-machine-liz-pelly-spotify-musicians/

It is clear Spotify does not care about surfacing high quality, dynamic,
interesting music for you

It’s actually rather the opposite, they are incentivized to show you music
that they’ve sourced at the lowest price

[Bänz]

Maybe this helps, has this been around for a while?

 

[Sneeze21]

bänz this doesn't help because the problem is not that we don't like the songs Spotify gives us, it's that Spotify keeps giving us songs from our "liked" list in the song radios of other songs even if they don't fit the genre/mood. This means that a) we hear the same songs over and over again, which gets irritating, b) we start hating songs we used to like because they are overplayed and are forced into song lists of the wrong mood, and c) (most importantly) we don't get to hear new music based on the selected song, which limits music discovery (something that many of us used "song radio" for in the first place). 

I just don't understand what role Spotify wants song radio to fulfill. If it's not for music discovery then what is it for? If we want to listen to songs from our previously listened or liked lists then we can shuffle the liked list or use the DJ or playlists "for you". It would make sense for song radio to be a way to discover new music which is somewhat similar to the song selected, but it doesn't do this currently. 

[gsusser]

Considering that Spotify hasn't responded to this thread for 3+ years, I have to think that this issue is not going to get resolved anytime soon, if ever. Regrettably, I find myself looking for a music streaming service with more enhanced AI. Any suggestions?

[Chrsgody]

This function used to be so great - I really hope they consider brining this back! 

[Lilybattershill]

I’m so bored of music that is all the same. So many of my friends have this issue too. I would love my suggested playlists and song radios to be more varied, with majority songs I haven’t heard before. Perhaps some people like the predictability, but it would at least be good to have a feature that allows you to tune the creativity and “randomness” of the playlists.