Spotify’s biggest sin? Its algorithms have pushed artists to make joyless, toothless music | John Harris

Most musicians can only make money on the platform by writing songs inoffensive enough to get on to one of its vapid playlistsIn the hands of some of its most gifted practitioners, songwriting is a kind of emotional alchemy. For the past week, I have been returning to a perfect example: Every Time the Sun Comes Up by the US singer Sharon Van Etten, which was released in 2014. Its lyrics might be fractured and fragmented, but it is an almost perfect portrait of self-doubt and downward spirals: one of those songs that captures feelings so deep that they go way beyond words.I went back to that song as I read a superb new book that has both educated and profoundly depressed me. Mood Machine, by the New York-based journalist Liz Pelly, is about the music-streaming giant Spotify, and how it attracted its current 615 million subscribers, making a billionaire of its Swedish co-founder and CEO, Daniel Ek. But its most compelling story centres on what Spotify has done to people’s appreciation of songs and the people who make them – much of which is down to the platform’s ubiquitous playlists.John Harris is a Guardian columnist. His memoir Maybe I’m Amazed, about his autistic son James and how music became their shared language, is published on 27 March. For more information, visit maybeimamazed.substack.com Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2025-03-09 16:38:43 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Spotify’s biggest sin? Its algorithms have pushed artists to make joyless, toothless music | John Harris"


iBooks Bestsellers: The Return of E.L. James

Initials ruled the iBooks Bestsellers list this past week, with J.P Delaney's 'The Girl Before' and J.D. Robb's 'Echoes In Death' nabbing the top two slots respectively and E.L. James netting five slots total on the list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


iBooks Bestsellers: Delaney, Patterson, James On Top

J.P. Delaney's 'The Girl Before' rose to the top of the iBooks Bestseller list this past week, followed by another strong showing by James Patterson and Candice Fox's 'Never Never.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Self-Publishing: An Insult to the Written Word or a Boon to the Industry?

A few months ago, after I picked up and devoured a beautifully written memoir by Elisa Hategan and was left with a serious Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2017-01-03 15:48:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Eva Longoria Will Read You Your Favorite Book: It's Last Night's New Ads

Every weekday, we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new and trending TV commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, a company that catalogs, tags and measures activity around TV ads in real time. The new releases here ran on TV for the first time yesterday. The Most Engaging ads are showing sustained... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Chloé Esposito 'bad twin' trilogy bags over £2m at London book fair

Thriller series Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know sets publishing showcase buzzing, but there’s cash left for a novel from Bake Off’s Nadiya Hussain, a Little Prince sequel and a pride of literary lionsWest London has been filled in the past week with publishers offering first hints about new books... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


One world for all

This past week has seen two of my favourite publishing events overlap, the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Man Booker Prize, proving that, for all of the industry’s foibles, we still know how to put on a show. The backdrop to the Frankfurt Book Fair this year is intriguing: as with the London Book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Zach LaVine Couldn't Care Less About Dunking in Foot Locker Spot

Every weekday, we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new and trending TV commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, a company that catalogs, tags and measures activity around TV ads in real time. The New Releases here ran on TV for the first time over the weekend. The Most Engaging ads are showing... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Quercus signs Lindy West

Quercus has acquired a book by Guardian columnist and GQ culture writer Lindy West. Shrill will be a “laugh-out-loud portrayal of what it means to become self-aware the hard way, in a popular culture that is hostile to women (especially fat women) and doesn't think women (especially feminists)... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'A Book Is a Gift Like No Other,' Says Barnes & Noble (See the Newest Ads on TV)

Every weekday, we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new and trending TV commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, a company that catalogs, tags and measures activity around TV ads in real time. The New Releases here ran on TV for the first time yesterday. The Most Engaging ads are showing sustained... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amazon 'Not Optimistic' It Will Resume Selling Hachette Books Normally Soon

Amazon.com said it is "not optimistic" that a dispute with publisher Hachette Book Group will be resolved soon and added that it is acting "on behalf of customers."The comments, which Amazon made yesterday in an online post, are the first extensive remarks by the world's largest online retailer... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Swordfish hands Brooker two-book deal

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 10:45 Orion Books imprint Swordfish has acquired two books by Guardian columnist and TV presenter Charlie Brooker, signing the titles through Jo Unwin at Conville & Walsh. Publisher Rowland White bought world rights in all... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this