Playlisting has changed how we discover music

Playlisting on streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music is changing how music listeners discover new music. Since 2016, streaming services have dominated the recorded music market, and in 2025, almost everyone uses a streaming service as their preferred way of listening to music. This change has greatly impacted how audiences discover new music, as it is now harder for consumers to discover new music and branch out to new genres organically.

Photo from RIAA

Playlists like Spotify’s Discover Weekly or Artist Radio make it appear like music listeners are discovering new music on their own, but in reality, these playlists are tailored towards the listener, and Spotify’s algorithm favors popular music. Since Spotify generates revenue per stream, its algorithm is going to tend to get you to listen to music that is already popular so they can maximize their earnings and make you continue using their app. On top of that, Spotify has a feature where you can pay to promote yourself on the home page, and only very famous artists with big record label deals have that kind of funding. As a result, playlisting is further influencing the homogenization of music and also making it harder for independent artists to grow on Spotify.

If you are a music fanatic wanting to discover new artists and genres organically, there are better ways to do that than through algorithms. For one, you can use online communities and online websites to find new music recommendations based on your tastes from other real humans. Secondly, you can also visit local music hubs like record stores and venues and attend live music events. Doing this can completely clear your listening experience of biases help you discover music you would have otherwise never encountered on a streaming platform, and potentially find your new favorite thing.

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Caleb G / Industry Insider