The Discovery Problem

Remember when finding new music felt like treasure hunting? You would hear a song at a party, catch a recommendation from a friend, or stumble across something weird in a record store. Now algorithms serve us the same 50 songs on infinite loop, and our musical worlds keep shrinking.

Spotify's Discover Weekly was revolutionary... five years ago. Now it is just another feedback loop serving you variations of what you already like. The algorithm optimizes for engagement, not discovery. It wants you to keep listening, not to expand your horizons.

Break the Loop

Listen to full albums: Skip the playlists for a week. Pick an album and listen start to finish. Artists design their work as complete experiences, not random song collections. You will hear tracks that never make the algorithmic cut.

Follow human curators: Find DJs, music journalists, and artists you respect and follow their playlists. Humans recommend music for emotional and artistic reasons. Algorithms recommend based on statistical similarity.

Go analog: Radio is not dead. College radio, NPR, and independent stations still play music you will not find on streaming charts. Serendipity requires giving up some control.

The TikTok Effect

TikTok has become the new radio for Gen Z. A 15-second clip can make a song go viral overnight. But this creates a different problem — we are discovering music as background noise for content, not as art to experience.

Your music taste should be yours, not an algorithm's output. Take back control. Listen intentionally. The best songs are the ones you discover yourself.