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Popular music is not decided by the public anyways. The music that becomes popular is a sub-set of the music that is decided on by the overlords - the folks who

Popular music is not decided by the public anyways. The music that becomes popular is a sub-set of the music that is decided on by the overlords - the folks who decide what should play on the radio, on television, in movies, or on the internet. There are hidden weights and biases to the algorithms that select the songs put for display by your popular media service providers. It is not truly decided by the public, nor neutral in any way.

gardenhedge 3y ago
Why would Spotify use those weights?
- thecrash 3y ago
  Because they are paid to, or rather because those who curate popular Spotify playlists are paid to. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola
  - gardenhedge 3y ago
    The Wikipedia article you linked does not back what you're saying..
    - StockHuman 3y ago
      The “also” implies relatedness. It is a broader trend in the music industry. For a specific example with Spotify, you might recall the Drake promo debacle from 2018; where “Scorpion” was so thoroughly pushed on to users that refunds for Spotify Premium were demanded on the grounds that the degree of promotion crossed a threshold into outright advertising, which premium was to be free of.
  - costco 3y ago
    Payola is illegal now, and it's funny that you even bring it up in this context because there was a time when payola was one of the only ways that independent labels could actually get music on air. It circumvented the overlords. The "respected" institutions didn't want to go near rock.