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You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favourite Song: How Streaming Changes Music
Spotify's former data guru charts how music's digital revolution affects fans and musiciansExplains how songs get onto the tech platforms and the rewards for artistsReveals which songs and artists are popular in different parts of the worldReaders can scan QR codes to get 10 free playlists to expand their listening
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 20, 2024
About the author
Glenn McDonald
9 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 30, 2024
I work in the music industry. I make music. I also write a somewhat popular newsletter about music. If I had to tell someone to read one book to understand how music works in the era of streaming, I would probably recommend this book. Written by former Spotify data guru Glenn McDonald, this book covers everything from how we define genres to algorithmic recommendations to payment schemes. It’s a book that I wish I could have written.
June 26, 2024
To be honest, I'm a bigger fan of what Glenn McDonald has brought to music than I am of any particular musical artist. Through his work at The Echo Nest, Spotify, and (especially) Every Noise at Once, I've experienced so much joy and discovery. I've also loved his writing at furia.com, where he posts new-release poetry, explorations of music genres as communities of love, and (increasingly rare) bloggy bits. His Twitter feed was a delightful, patient (and occasionally sardonic) drumbeat explaining that common assumptions about streaming economics are, in fact, completely wrong. So I was very excited to read McDonald's thoughts at book length. If you've ever wondered about those strange genre names in your Spotify Wrapped, wondered how streaming companies pay artists, and wondered how to explore the vast universe of (almost) all the world's music available all at once, I highly recommend this book. If you just enjoy listening to music, I highly recommend this book. If "how streaming changes music" sounds a little too specific of a topic for your book reading, may I suggest that the secret subtitle is "how streaming changes joy." And if you're still unconvinced, go check out Every Noise at Once, marvel, and then pick this book up.
September 29, 2024
Ця книжка не лише відповідає на питання «як працюють стрімінги?», а й «чому вони блядь не працюють так як треба і чому спотіфай мені рекомендує йобану русню?»
Рекомендував би її прочитати усім, для кого музика – це щось більше ніж кнопочка плей.
Книга не так відкриває якісь нові знання, як радше впорядковує усі ті краплини, про які ми й так здогадувалися.
Та це напевно та книга, яку захочеться раз в декілька років переглядати. + попідкреслював собі пів книжки цитат, щоб застосовувати їх як аргументи у Інтернет-срачах.
Ґленн, як колишній дата алхімік (технічним людям треба якось вже бути простіше з назвами своїх позицій в компаніях, нє?) Спотіфаю максимально доступно та задротсько (в хорошому розумінні) розповідає про індустрію музики і її розвиток від фізичного медіа до власне стрімінгів.
Як змінилося сприйняття музики, чому музика альбомами відмирає, скільки музики фізично можливо прослухати взагалі, як найправильніше розподілювати доходи, що сервіси знають про нас, чому ви ще не почули свою улюблену пісню та чому алгоритми ніколи не помиляються.
І чому на всі ці питання немає однозначної відповіді.
P.S. Рекомендує русню – бо слухають русню ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
P.P.S. Навіть якщо русню не слухаєте ви особисто, саме так.
Рекомендував би її прочитати усім, для кого музика – це щось більше ніж кнопочка плей.
Книга не так відкриває якісь нові знання, як радше впорядковує усі ті краплини, про які ми й так здогадувалися.
Та це напевно та книга, яку захочеться раз в декілька років переглядати. + попідкреслював собі пів книжки цитат, щоб застосовувати їх як аргументи у Інтернет-срачах.
Ґленн, як колишній дата алхімік (технічним людям треба якось вже бути простіше з назвами своїх позицій в компаніях, нє?) Спотіфаю максимально доступно та задротсько (в хорошому розумінні) розповідає про індустрію музики і її розвиток від фізичного медіа до власне стрімінгів.
Як змінилося сприйняття музики, чому музика альбомами відмирає, скільки музики фізично можливо прослухати взагалі, як найправильніше розподілювати доходи, що сервіси знають про нас, чому ви ще не почули свою улюблену пісню та чому алгоритми ніколи не помиляються.
І чому на всі ці питання немає однозначної відповіді.
P.S. Рекомендує русню – бо слухають русню ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
P.P.S. Навіть якщо русню не слухаєте ви особисто, саме так.
September 15, 2024
More a collection of musings and short essays but it gave me a lot to think about in regards to music and the form we consume it today, and taught me even more about how underappreciated a tool Spotify is for learning more about our world than we ever could alone. There's a good amount of personal philosophy-sharing tangents that I think I'd be more annoyed about if McDonald didn't seem like such a cool guy lol
Big recommend!!!!
Fav quote from near the end "We can form ourselves into chords but only if we sing out loud". Wasn't expecting a lot of philosophical positing of the importance of celebrating and loving openly and widely but happy I got it
Big recommend!!!!
Fav quote from near the end "We can form ourselves into chords but only if we sing out loud". Wasn't expecting a lot of philosophical positing of the importance of celebrating and loving openly and widely but happy I got it
September 29, 2024
While this book bears all the signs of a blog smooshed into book shape, it is saved by being pretty much right about everything.
I'm one of the few people in the world that worked on automated music recommendations professionally. It manages to articulate the view from the inside in an accurate way, which despite wider histrionics, has plenty of intriguing areas of optimism. I particularly liked sections on how to think about genres, the relation between albums and playlists, and the unusual ways gen z can form musical communities. My biggest criticism is his actual taste in music, for which there is famously no accounting
I'm one of the few people in the world that worked on automated music recommendations professionally. It manages to articulate the view from the inside in an accurate way, which despite wider histrionics, has plenty of intriguing areas of optimism. I particularly liked sections on how to think about genres, the relation between albums and playlists, and the unusual ways gen z can form musical communities. My biggest criticism is his actual taste in music, for which there is famously no accounting
July 8, 2024
incredibly insightful. closed the book with great answers (transparent view of how streaming and algorithms work for artists and consumers) but more importantly, even better questions. thank you glenn for writing this book and for existing and sharing your knowledge and perceptions and for championing music. i think everyone who likes music should read this.
December 19, 2024
“What machine learning most enthusiastically facilitates is turning cultural problems into technical problems, reducing the need for qualitative human input, so that they can be addressed by engineers who don’t have to know or care about the cultural details.”
written by Glenn McDonald, former Spotify data alchemist and creator of my favorite website everynoise.com. also the creator of the genre classification system on spotify (yes he coined the term escape room)
a great read for anyone who is fascinated by genre, music exploration, and personalization algorithms. McDonald discusses the responsibilities of the humans who create algorithms and paths for moving forward in this burgeoning field
“demand that algorithms both earn your trust and maintain it”
“Love what you love, which needn’t be only music. But pay attention to how things absorb your time and attention out of inertia instead of love.”
…
also of note: the Christmas music anomaly in data that has to be mathed out of algorithms, and McDonald’s fervent hatred of jazz 😂
written by Glenn McDonald, former Spotify data alchemist and creator of my favorite website everynoise.com. also the creator of the genre classification system on spotify (yes he coined the term escape room)
a great read for anyone who is fascinated by genre, music exploration, and personalization algorithms. McDonald discusses the responsibilities of the humans who create algorithms and paths for moving forward in this burgeoning field
“demand that algorithms both earn your trust and maintain it”
“Love what you love, which needn’t be only music. But pay attention to how things absorb your time and attention out of inertia instead of love.”
…
also of note: the Christmas music anomaly in data that has to be mathed out of algorithms, and McDonald’s fervent hatred of jazz 😂
November 9, 2024
Borrowed this book from the library and it renewed my love of music. It was so fun to read about all these genres I wasn’t aware of, and I thought I already know quite a lot. I kept pausing my reading to check out the music on my streaming provider (well, not Spotify).
So when I returned the book to the library, I bought a copy just to keep.
Thank you, this book made me happy.
So when I returned the book to the library, I bought a copy just to keep.
Thank you, this book made me happy.
October 30, 2024
Great book 😍, what I like is that it was written by a software engineer, Glenn explains the technical side of the Spotify's business model and how Glenn's passion for music motivated him to create amazing pieces of software that millions of users Jan enjoy today. Another great aspect is that Glenn used loads of music references, he recommended plenty of bands that I didn't know before and he talks a lot about metal music 🎸🤘
August 14, 2024
I do not typically read nonfiction books, but as a music lover, a genre explorer, and someone who too late discovered the project Every Noise at Once, this book seemed promising. It turned out that 'Promising' was an understatement. It altered my perception of the streaming music industry; gave me easily understood reasoning behind the logic that much of streaming runs on; provided wonderful analysis, criticism, breakdowns, and proposed solutions and ethical guidelines for the morality of algorithms; opened my eyes to the immense diversity of music that exists; provided me with new avenues for discovery within this diversity of music; did all of this while being extraordinarily well written, making me laugh, and using uniquely descriptive metaphor to illustrate concepts; and made me use semicolons for this list, which is maybe the third time I've ever needed to do so in my writing experience.
If you have a love of music, an interest in music discovery, and a background in computer science, you should read this book. If you don't have a background in computer science, you should also read this book - none of its text included over-the-top technical descriptions, and any technical descriptions were done in a very down-to-earth, practical way.
This is likely the first nonfiction book I have read since college, and it is also one of the best books I have read since college. I cannot wait to hand it off to any friends who will consider reading it; I only wish I had more copies to hand off to more friends.
If you have a love of music, an interest in music discovery, and a background in computer science, you should read this book. If you don't have a background in computer science, you should also read this book - none of its text included over-the-top technical descriptions, and any technical descriptions were done in a very down-to-earth, practical way.
This is likely the first nonfiction book I have read since college, and it is also one of the best books I have read since college. I cannot wait to hand it off to any friends who will consider reading it; I only wish I had more copies to hand off to more friends.
September 7, 2024
One of the easiest books to read about algorithms you'll find, chock full of insights about how music, the music industry and the world of streaming works. Perhaps the best part is that the casual fun writing is shot through with the author's music suggestions and humanity, giving the whole piece a warm friendly feel. It's also filled with potent quotes about the future we should want to build with algorithms, computers, and art. Every Spotify user should read it. Then everyone else.
September 29, 2024
Love the idea behind Every Noise at Once, so this was a very fun read. Was interesting to have a peek into the streaming industry and thoughts that go into the discovery alghorithms. Secretly enjoyed the running theme of symphonic metal throughout the book as a fellow metal fan, but the mention of interesting and niche genres inspired me to broaden my horizon as well.
July 25, 2024
A fun and interesting read, even when it resembles a lecture or TED talk that I don't especially agree with
July 15, 2024
Deeply accurate (and important) glimpse behind curtain of music streaming industry
September 11, 2024
Extremely nerdy yet interesting account of how we 'consume' music today, via streaming
November 3, 2024
First a Disclaimer and then a caveat
Disclaimer: I have known and been friends with glenn (sic) for over 35 years. I do not believe this influenced my review but just be aware.
Caveat: glenn is passionate about music while I merely enjoy it. I know this because music was a primary topic of conversation from when we first met. Heck, I was one of the readers for a very early (printed) attempt of his to catalog music.
With those two out of the way I will say that I find the book both incredibly informative and entertaining. glenn's style of writing matches his speaking style and which helps me digest the topic even if I lack glenn's (ahem) passion.
If you're curious about how Spotify works it's music matching magic or you are simply interested in the more esoteric genre-ficiation of music I think you'll enjoy this book quite a lot. Personally, I came to this from the interest in the underlying technology/algorithms of it but I also picked up a few song recommendations that really worked out for me (thanks for Flight of Icarus glenn).
I suspect there's probably another book in him related to AI as it poked it's head in there towards the end and I'll definitely pick that one up should that happen.
Disclaimer: I have known and been friends with glenn (sic) for over 35 years. I do not believe this influenced my review but just be aware.
Caveat: glenn is passionate about music while I merely enjoy it. I know this because music was a primary topic of conversation from when we first met. Heck, I was one of the readers for a very early (printed) attempt of his to catalog music.
With those two out of the way I will say that I find the book both incredibly informative and entertaining. glenn's style of writing matches his speaking style and which helps me digest the topic even if I lack glenn's (ahem) passion.
If you're curious about how Spotify works it's music matching magic or you are simply interested in the more esoteric genre-ficiation of music I think you'll enjoy this book quite a lot. Personally, I came to this from the interest in the underlying technology/algorithms of it but I also picked up a few song recommendations that really worked out for me (thanks for Flight of Icarus glenn).
I suspect there's probably another book in him related to AI as it poked it's head in there towards the end and I'll definitely pick that one up should that happen.
August 25, 2024
I spend enough of my time listening to Spotify that it seemed to make sense to read a book to understand better how it worked. This book is by someone who worked there for about a decade and did a lot of their algorithmic and personalization work.
I came away with a better understanding, but not as much as I would have liked. The author has the right combination of music and computing background to give a lot of insight. The book, however, is structured as a series of essays, so I feel like it was limited in the background it could give. Further, he left Spotify maybe a year ago, so he did not explain their latest AI feature. (Having used those features, I doubt anybody can actually explain them.)
But in the end, it's great to read about something by an author who is bright and enthusiastic about the topic, and this book certainly is that type of book.
I came away with a better understanding, but not as much as I would have liked. The author has the right combination of music and computing background to give a lot of insight. The book, however, is structured as a series of essays, so I feel like it was limited in the background it could give. Further, he left Spotify maybe a year ago, so he did not explain their latest AI feature. (Having used those features, I doubt anybody can actually explain them.)
But in the end, it's great to read about something by an author who is bright and enthusiastic about the topic, and this book certainly is that type of book.
October 24, 2024
This book is actually very informative and describes many aspects of streaming and data that are beneficial and interesting to know. I thought as a creative I would’ve been more drawn to this book, but I think the way it was written went off topic a bit too much and was either too wordy or written in a complex way that didn’t necessarily make too much sense. It was interesting enough but I couldn’t finish it to be honest without it feeling like a chore.
November 10, 2024
The beginning and middle sections of this book contained some really interesting information about the music industry and how artists get paid. The latter half of the book felt like the author listing his favorite songs and genres. It felt like the interesting and informative content of the book could have been boiled down to an article or blog post.
August 26, 2024
Great look through interesting stories/lessons into the music industry, streaming, listening and recommendations from an author who worked on all of this first-hand. 100% recommend if you are at all interested in the topic.
December 17, 2024
Fascinating book! I still don't understand the payment model or how most artists make literally no money at all, but the music recommendation stuff was great reading. I think something in the business of music needs to change but IDK how or what.
December 1, 2024
lots of fun anecdotes about pecularities in streaming data and how the music industry has changed over the last 20 years. does gets a bit rambly / unfocused towards the end
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews