On how Spotify is using social listening, text analysis and Big Data to source its playlists content…

Spotify’s personalized Discover Weekly playlist has won millions of fans with its uncanny ability to find music based on your musical preferences. But what if you’re tired of the music that it feeds you?

The music streaming giant is taking a new approach with the expansion of its Fresh Finds playlists. They come out once a week, just like Discover Weekly. But Fresh Finds playlists aren’t personalized—instead they rely on the tastemakers among Spotify’s 100 million users, using them like an early-warning system for music.

“It’s an algorithmic way to discover new music—and we mean really brand new,” said Brian Whitman, Spotify’s principal scientist and the founder of music data firm Echo Nest, which Spotify acquired in 2014. “The point is not a personalized playlist that’s perfect every time. It’s supposed to challenge you a little bit.”

The Fresh Finds master playlist, which features a mishmash of genres, has been around since July. But starting today (Mar. 2, 2016), Spotify is rolling out five new genre-specific Fresh Finds playlists…

Source: Spotify is using 50,000 anonymous hipsters to find your next favorite song