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.

[Chellboy]

Since i use spotify to discover new music, it would be preferable to have a playlist radio based on a playlist, but not including any of the songs in that same playlist.

Then it would be even easier to only listen to new music with the same vibe associated with that playlist.

[MoemaS]

I remember in the past when spotify's features like Discover Weekly and the Radio feature would either: (Discover Weekly) show you songs in the same genre of what your listening to now or (for Radio) songs similar to the one your listening to. 

Instead now, when using either one of those features I will more often than not get the same repetitive maintsream songs that I already have liked and saved. 

One of the main reasons I preffered spotify over so many of the other music platforms was how easy it was so find new music that was to your liking. 

• Please bring it back

[Brookie60000]

it’s literally still the same way.. every single time i play a song from the search page the radio start with the SAME EXACT SONG. it is beyond extremely frustrating and exhausting, it’s almost not even worth paying for anymore.

[Bänz]

Ok, whining won’t open the ears of the Spotify dev team. You can easily skip this song.

It would be nice if the song that is already playing would not restart when starting the radio, but just play to the end and then go to the next song of the radio.

[Brookie60000]

If you don’t have anything constructive to say then don’t say anything, thanks. 

[Abelardo_medina]

Toma este mensaje como algo para mejorar. Abre tu mente.

Porque YouTube música funciona super bien en encontrar lo más relacionado a lo que uno busca escuchar partiendo de mi única selección. Selecciono una canción y de ahí todo su radio es excelente. 

Compré Spotify porque hace 4 años tenía buena experiencia, ahora no. Me tengo que ir de esta plataforma con dolor. Pero igual eso no les interesa. Hoy soy yo. Después puedes ser tu sin trabajo. 

abre tu mente y criterio.

[jtomusic]

Pure speculation here but there's probably a number of reasons why Spotify will never change this.

1. People tend to listen to the same songs over and over again. There's a bunch of research around why people do this. Spotify knows that giving people songs they know will keep them listening longer, which is probably a metric they optimize towards.

2. Spotify uses lots of caching to minimize their data transfer costs. Songs you've already heard before are more likely to be cached, which means less cost to serve up the songs, which is probably something they're also trying to minimize.

Again, pure speculation, but serving up songs people have never heard means they'll listen less (on average) and it'll cost more. Doesn't make any sense from a business standpoint.

[pauiepops016]

In the last few months, this issue started happening with me.

I have a wide range of genres I like: from indie pop, techno and EDM, rock, pop and hip-hop / rap and R&B, to alternative rock, rock ballads and even orchestral hymns and chants. Before, the song radio option gave me GREAT suggestions.. I was able to build a list of over 20 personal playlists from all of these songs I've heard over the years, and continue to build upon them (kin of having my own personally curated playlist!) but recently, Spotify has been suggesting MOSTLY if not almost ONLY songs I've already heard. Just as an example... I was listening to Around The World by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and expect the song radio to suggest songs that SOUND like that SONG - while still staying within the same genre of that song/artist. By the 5th song, it was suggesting Steve Aoki's Neon Future lll (Intro). lol

I just want to be able to change genre's sometimes T_T

[Buttobase]

I think you hit the nail on the head with point 2 😉

[Sneeze21]

When looking into the song radio of different but ultimately similar genre songs, I find that the same songs come up ALL THE TIME. I'm trying to figure out ways that this can be avoided as I'm sure it comes down to many different factors, but one option perhaps is to not include songs that you have listened to already that day or the day before. I find that I can be listening to song radio for one song and I hear certain songs, then after a while I go onto the song radio of another song and I'm hearing the same songs again, even though I just listened to them. Would it be possible to just put this factor in, so that we are not bombarded with the same 5 songs at the top of every song radio? Maybe put you can start reintroducing them again further down the list after a week?

Alternatively, can there be an option to "snooze" a certain song for a week when you have just heard it enough and it keeps popping up?