You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favourite Song: How Streaming Changes Music

by Glenn McDonald

Genres: Non-fiction
Pages: 236
Rating:

Synopsis:

For the first time in history, almost every song ever recorded is available instantly. Everywhere.

This book charts what music’s dazzling digital revolution really means for fans and artists. As a former data guru at the world’s biggest streaming service, Spotify, Glenn McDonald reveals:

- What the tech giants know about you
- How they serve up your next song
- Whether fans can cheat the algorithm
- Whether jazz is dead and ASMR is the new punk
- Your chances of becoming a rock star

Having analysed the streams of 500 million people, McDonald explores what the data tells us about music and about ourselves, from the secrets of russelåter in Norway to Christmas in the Philippines.

Statistically, you have not yet heard your lifetime’s favourite song. This book will take you on a voyage of discovery through music’s fast-flowing new waters.

10 bonus playlists of wonder included!

In a way, it’s really hard for me to know how to rate/review Glenn McDonald’s You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favourite Song, because he could tell me that Spotify has an arts-and-crafts department just for employees and I’d have to believe him — and when it comes to math (as when he discusses Spotify’s payment model), anyone can blind me with science, I’m afraid.

What I can say is that McDonald clearly has a passion for music, and believes that streaming is fair, equitable, and good for music going forward — or at least not worse for it than any of the other models we’ve had of music getting into people’s hands. He’s fascinated by the diversity of music, and eager for Spotify and other services to bring that music to people and let them try it.

In some ways, I’d rather he stuck to that part, because when he talks about the revenue models etc, it’s always with the caveat that he had nothing to do with that. As such, it’s all very back-of-the-napkin. He also outright contradicts some of the reporting about Spotify (e.g. that they commissioned some music for a flat fee to fill up playlists, so they don’t have to pay out when those songs are listened to) where I don’t know who is right or wrong at all. My instinct is that McDonald is definitely working hard to protect Spotify and cast it in the right light, which seems to be out of love, and may or may not be truly accurate.

I’m now reading Mood Machine, by Liz Pelly, and I get the sense that McDonald’s book is a bit more like a PR machine (even if he doesn’t work for Spotify now) and Liz Pelly’s is more accurate reporting.

Rating: 2/5