Quick Hits: Music science report; inside a playlisting company; Mixcloud interview

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Music science report by O’Reilly: For some technical reading, check out the latest report from O’Reilly. It’s about how science, data, and analytics have impacted the music industry. The report is a good snapshot of topics that we cover regularly on RAIN, from metadata to algorithm-driven recommendations.

The other side of playola accusations: Streaming services and labels have been facing some charges of collusion recently, with accusations of accepting money in exchange for placement on a playlist. Justin Barker of Slice Music, a playlist curation service, explained what his industry does and how it works. With so much scrutiny on the money changing hands anywhere in the music industry, it’s great to understand this perspective on the business.

Interview with Mixcloud’s co-founder: We just saw a very high-profile dig at human curation in music services today, so here’s another fan of the tastemakers for balance. Cuepoint interviewed Mixcloud co-founder Nico Perez about the company, including his views on the role of human curation in online music.

Anna Washenko