AMBITION TO TURN ALL MUSIC INTO EMOTIONAL WALLPAPER.

something we experience. The act of streaming transforms music from a noun into a verb, a thing into an activity.

Through all of this, it’s still important to remember Spotify isn’t the same thing as streaming, just as consumers are not the same thing as listeners. And as consumers, we have every right to be perturbed about how this new mode of circulation perpetuates the worst practices of the music industry — especially when it comes to Spotify.

We already knew that Spotify’s royalty rates were objectionable, and we knew that its algorithm-generated playlists often feel like mix tapes made by bots. Then, in December, thanks to an outstanding cian’s work to legitimize their brands in exchange for nothing other than exposure is exploitative and unconscionable.

What I’m less worried about, however, is the mounting concern over Spotify’s favouritism toward anodyne sounds, and how the platform populates its playlists with non-disruptive styles of music to keep listeners from logging off. “Spotify loves ‘chill’ playlists,” Pelly writes. “They’re the purest distillation of its ambition to turn all music into emotional wallpaper. They’re also tied to what its algorithm manipulates best: mood and affect.”

Yes, that’s gross, but isn’t that how the music industry