5 ms·

Emby can stream without a subscription. But why does the author hate algorithms so much? Spotify has great recommendations.

yesco 4y ago
>Spotify has great recommendations. For some people Spotify absolutely does not have good recommendations, at least that has been my experience
- cdme 4y ago
  My favorite band's presence on streaming consists of a greatest hits compilation (and I believe the same is true of their back catalogue on digital stores). I have their CDs but they've also retired so I imagine they'll never have a meaningful digital/streaming presence. Any recommendations from streaming services have a blind spot for them.
- ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
  You gotta work with the algo. Sometimes if you only listen to one genre for a while it gets stuck in a rut. It does get annoying when it keeps playing the same song I've only listened to once and then skipped every other time.
- Hasu 4y ago
  I'm not sure about other people, but I hate Spotify's recommendations, and I think it's because my unit of music discovery is albums, not tracks. The Daily Discovery playlist is just randomly selected tracks, and I can't even listen to that. It's too scattered and doesn't go deep enough. The old Discover tab/page was amazing for finding new albums, but they killed it for some reason.
  - amoss 4y ago
    Perhaps this is more what you are looking for: throw together a playlist with a particular "vibe". Doesn't have to be large, 5-10 tracks works fine. Either switch on enhanced and look at the suggestions, or use the separate section for suggested additions at the bottom. Add the ones that fit the vibe, reject the rest. Repeat. I've found that it mines niches particulary well and discovers new tracks much more effeectively than the pre-canned discover playlists, or daily suggestions.
dfcowell 4y ago
I’m not the author, but I’ve gone down the same path as them (Plex + ripped CDs.) My breaking point was when - as a premium subscriber already - Spotify insisted on promoting their family plan, Taylor Swift’s new album and whatever the flavor of the current week was via full-screen modal popups in the app with no way to prevent them. I asked support several times and was told they didn’t have a toggle. I tried moving to Apple Music, but the discovery patterns in that app didn’t align with what I was looking for, and offline play has been nerfed so hard I can’t find any way to do it any more. I’m now on Plex + Plexamp for music and happier for it.
- ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
  I use an old version of the android client and don't see any of that stuff.
jrm4 4y ago
I very much hate them. I know I'm going be the old man yelling at clouds on this one, but I genuinely believe that algorithms are garbage "curators" and no substitute for individual humans (DJs, radio show people) with taste, because algos can (and will) be gamed.
- ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
  There is no human with music tastes as specific as mine besides me. But an algo can take all of my listening history and recommend whole genres I didn't even know about. I don't think Spotify's is one that can be gamed.
  - jrm4 4y ago
    What in the world makes you think it can't? I can think of a TON of ways this could happen at MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS. Is it open/transparent? Okay, then they could just be lying. How does it weigh things? There's no such thing as "objective" here. Okay, from the outside, what's stopping me from "ddosing" fake streams from vps' or similar? It strikes me as utterly naive to presume "fairness" here.
    - ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
      It serves me songs it thinks I like and it's usually correct. Why the conspiracy theories?
      - jrm4 4y ago
        "Serving you things you, an individual, like" and so-called "conspiracy theories" are in no way incompatible. I'm saying this as someone who's seen a relatively long 'history' of what is popular in hip-hop as an example, and I think there are observable trends that go beyond mere "oh, the kids always like something different from the adults."
        ThrowawayTestr 4y ago

yesco 4y ago

>Spotify has great recommendations. For some people Spotify absolutely does not have good recommendations, at least that has been my experience

cdme 4y ago
My favorite band's presence on streaming consists of a greatest hits compilation (and I believe the same is true of their back catalogue on digital stores). I have their CDs but they've also retired so I imagine they'll never have a meaningful digital/streaming presence. Any recommendations from streaming services have a blind spot for them.
ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
You gotta work with the algo. Sometimes if you only listen to one genre for a while it gets stuck in a rut. It does get annoying when it keeps playing the same song I've only listened to once and then skipped every other time.
Hasu 4y ago
I'm not sure about other people, but I hate Spotify's recommendations, and I think it's because my unit of music discovery is albums, not tracks. The Daily Discovery playlist is just randomly selected tracks, and I can't even listen to that. It's too scattered and doesn't go deep enough. The old Discover tab/page was amazing for finding new albums, but they killed it for some reason.
- amoss 4y ago
  Perhaps this is more what you are looking for: throw together a playlist with a particular "vibe". Doesn't have to be large, 5-10 tracks works fine. Either switch on enhanced and look at the suggestions, or use the separate section for suggested additions at the bottom. Add the ones that fit the vibe, reject the rest. Repeat. I've found that it mines niches particulary well and discovers new tracks much more effeectively than the pre-canned discover playlists, or daily suggestions.

dfcowell 4y ago

I’m not the author, but I’ve gone down the same path as them (Plex + ripped CDs.) My breaking point was when - as a premium subscriber already - Spotify insisted on promoting their family plan, Taylor Swift’s new album and whatever the flavor of the current week was via full-screen modal popups in the app with no way to prevent them. I asked support several times and was told they didn’t have a toggle. I tried moving to Apple Music, but the discovery patterns in that app didn’t align with what I was looking for, and offline play has been nerfed so hard I can’t find any way to do it any more. I’m now on Plex + Plexamp for music and happier for it.

ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
I use an old version of the android client and don't see any of that stuff.

jrm4 4y ago

I very much hate them. I know I'm going be the old man yelling at clouds on this one, but I genuinely believe that algorithms are garbage "curators" and no substitute for individual humans (DJs, radio show people) with taste, because algos can (and will) be gamed.

ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
There is no human with music tastes as specific as mine besides me. But an algo can take all of my listening history and recommend whole genres I didn't even know about. I don't think Spotify's is one that can be gamed.
- jrm4 4y ago
  What in the world makes you think it can't? I can think of a TON of ways this could happen at MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS. Is it open/transparent? Okay, then they could just be lying. How does it weigh things? There's no such thing as "objective" here. Okay, from the outside, what's stopping me from "ddosing" fake streams from vps' or similar? It strikes me as utterly naive to presume "fairness" here.
  - ThrowawayTestr 4y ago
    It serves me songs it thinks I like and it's usually correct. Why the conspiracy theories?
    - jrm4 4y ago
      "Serving you things you, an individual, like" and so-called "conspiracy theories" are in no way incompatible. I'm saying this as someone who's seen a relatively long 'history' of what is popular in hip-hop as an example, and I think there are observable trends that go beyond mere "oh, the kids always like something different from the adults."
      - ThrowawayTestr 4y ago