So basically they’re developing a product marketed to streaming platforms to identify what’s “more attractive” to consumers. The algorithms are still optimized for increasing sales and engagement, not improving recommendations (for the user).
It's possible that the recommendations are both good for users and good for corporate interests. They might not work for you, but for millions of Spotify users they seem to work. People listen to them a lot.
I listen to my recommended "Discover" playlists occasionally. They're decent. They include things I haven't heard and quite like. Maybe record labels are paying to be on them. Oh well.
I’ve never really understood what variations of the rejoinder “you are not the target user” are intended to accomplish, at least in conversations like this.
When discussing things like product strategy it makes some (more than a little) sense. But in a conversation about personal preference, what do you expect the reader to take away from it? “Oh okay, sorry, I didn’t realize I wasn’t meant to like this. I guess my opinion’s invalid.”
Who cares who the average user is, when someone is saying something doesn’t appeal to them? Is the sentiment some kind of scolding for not liking it? I sincerely don’t understand.
I think the remark is meant to address internet comments' tendency to jump from "this product doesn't meet my needs", to "consequently it is a bad / mismanaged product".
From the original comment: "The algorithms are still optimized for increasing sales and engagement, not improving recommendations (for the user)." That is an opinion about 'product strategy'. The answers, in this context, are confirming that 'not for the user' part. I find relevant to highlight that HN may not be the most representative crowd in this situation.
I do not use Spotify, nor I had for years. And I do not like the level of influence that all those algorithms have on the population decisions. So, it's not about protecting Spotify but an observation to try to add another point of view to the discussion.
I’ve never really understood what variations of the rejoinder “you are not the target user” are intended to accomplish, at least in conversations like this.
It's simply a reminder that when you work at scale you can't please everyone. Someone complaining that a feature doesn't work for them is not the same as saying it doesn't work.
On a site like HN the conversation is usually about the broader picture rather than individual complaints unless someone is responding directly to the CEO of a company. I think the CEO of Spotify posts here occasionally, so maybe he'll reply. The rest of us are talking about it in more general terms.
That’s just the appeal to the majority fallacy. People may just use Spotify because it’s free with ads and they have the hook of personal libraries to keep you stuck on the service as a paying member.
It's possible that the recommendations are both good for users and good for corporate interests. They might not work for you, but for millions of Spotify users they seem to work. People listen to them a lot.
I listen to my recommended "Discover" playlists occasionally. They're decent. They include things I haven't heard and quite like. Maybe record labels are paying to be on them. Oh well.