Splendid Isolation: The reproduction of music industry inequalities in Spotify's recommendation system

In this article, we argue that offline inequalities, such as core-periphery relations of the music industry, are reproduced by streaming platforms. First, we offer an overview of the reproduction of inequalities and core-periphery dynamics in the music industry. Then we illustrate this through a small-scale network analysis case study of Hungarian metal bands' connections on Spotify. We show that the primary determinant of a given band's international connectedness in Spotify's algorithmic ecosystem is their international label connections. Bands on international labels have more reciprocal international connections and are more likely to be recommended based on actual genre similarity. However, bands signed with local labels or self-published tend to have domestic connections and to be paired with other artists by Spotify's recommendation system according to their country of origin.

Automated summary

This article argues that streaming platforms replicate offline inequalities in the music industry, with a focus on band connections with international labels as a primary determinant of international connectedness and recommendations on Spotify. Bands signed with international labels are more likely to have international connections and similar genre recommendations, while bands signed with local labels or self-published tend to have domestic connections and recommendations based on country of origin.