Spotify, the Swedish music streaming service, has announced a new experiment. Artists and labels can identify music thats a priority for them, and their system will add that signal to the algorithm that determines personalised listening sessions.
The move, said the company, will help artists and labels decide to promote any music that's important to them. "Artists tell us they want more opportunities to connect with new listeners, and we believe our recommendations should also be informed by artists -- their priorities and what they have to say about their music," Spotify said on Monday.
"We will roll out a test of a service that gives artists a say in how their music is discovered". Currently, Spotify drives 16 billion artist discoveries every month, meaning fans listen to an artist they have never heard before on Spotify billion times a month.
The new test allows Spotify algorithms to account for what's important to the artist -- perhaps a song they're particularly excited about, an album anniversary they're celebrating, a viral cultural moment they're experiencing, or other factors they care about.
To ensure the tool is accessible to artists at any stage of their careers, it won't require any upfront budget.
"Instead, labels or rights holders agree to be paid a promotional recording royalty rate for streams in personalized listening sessions where we provided this service," the company informed.
"If the songs resonate with listeners, we'll keep trying them in similar sessions. If the songs don't perform well, they'll quickly be pulled back".
To begin with, Spotify will focus on applying this service to its Radio and Autoplay formats. As it learns from this experiment, it will test expanding to other personalised areas on the platform.
*Edited from an IANS report