Big Mood Machine

Big Mood(mo͞od) Machine(məˈSHēn)

Spotify pursues(pərˈso͞o) emotional(əˈmōSH(ə)n(ə)l) surveillance(sərˈvāləns) for global profit(ˈpräfət)

By Liz Pelly

Music is emotional, and so our listening often signals(ˈsignəl) something deeply personal and private. Today, this means music streaming platforms(ˈplatfôrm) are in a unique position within the greater platform economy(əˈkänəmē): they have troves(trōv) of data related to our emotional states, moods, and feelings. It’s a matter of unprecedented(ˌənˈpresədən(t)əd) access to our interior(inˈti(ə)rēər) lives, which is buffered by the flimsy(ˈflimzē) illusion(iˈlo͞oZHən) of privacy(ˈprīvəsē). When a user chooses, for example, a “private listening” session on Spotify, the effect is to make them feel that it’s a one-way relation between person and machine. Of course, that personalization(ˌpərs(ə)n(ə)ləˈzāSH(ə)n, ˌpərs(ə)nəˌlīˈzāSH(ə)n) process is Spotify’s way of selling users on its product. But, as it turns out, in a move that should not surprise anyone at this point, Spotify has been selling access to that listening data to multinational(ˌməltēˈnaSH(ə)n(ə)l, ˌməltīˈnaSH(ə)n(ə)l) corporations.

Where other platforms might need to invest more to piece(pēs) together emotional user profiles, Spotify streamlines(līn) the process by providing boxes that users click on to indicate their moods: Happy Hits(hit), Mood Booster(ˈbo͞ostər), Rage(rāj) Beats(bēt), Life Sucks(sək). All of these are examples of what can now be found on Spotify’s Browse(brouz) page under the “mood” category, which currently(ˈkərəntlē) contains eighty-five playlists. If you need a lift(lift) in the morning, there’s Wake Up Happy, A Perfect Day, or Ready for the Day. If you’re feeling down, there’s Feeling Down, Sad Vibe(vīb), Down in the Dumps(dəmps), Drifting Apart(əˈpärt), Sad Beats(bēt), Sad Indie(ˈindē), and Devastating(ˈdevəˌstādiNG). If you’re grieving(grēv), there’s even Coping with Loss(läs,lôs), with the tagline: “When someone you love becomes a memory, find solace(ˈsäləs) in these songs.”

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https://thebaffler.com/downstream/big-mood-machine-pelly