Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist

by Liz Pelly

Spotify users can request a download of their account data by navigating to “Account,” then “Privacy Settings,” then “Download your data.” Within the folder provided, there are several files, like “Playlists,” which includes the titles, descriptions, and tracklists for every playlist I have created on Spotify, and “Search Queries,”

This practice is called “ID syncing,” in which companies compile data from various sources, from cookies and mobile identifiers, fingerprinting on browsers. Taken altogether, these companies attempt to map detailed user profiles that could be used for job selection, background checks, political micro-targeting, and more.

a start-up called Creditvidya, which has used music streaming data as part of its algorithm for approving loans, and the microcredit start-up Lenddo, which media scholar Robert Prey has noted uses concert ticket data as part of approving students for loans to buy textbooks.

marketplace,” it lays bare the similarities between today’s musicians and gig workers more broadly: precarious work where your boss is an app.