The Spotify Insights blog has a new data creation for its fans to play with. The latest is a musical map with accompanying playlists showcasing the songs that are most unique to many of the world’s cities. Editor Eliot Van Buskirk calls these songs ‘distinctive,’ tunes that one location seems to enjoy a lot but other areas don’t. So you won’t find the top 40 hits, but rather an interesting compilation of what makes a city’s collective listening habits different from the rest of the world.
The cities covered on the map are mostly in the U.S., Europe, and South America. Just click on one and the Spotify web player will open with the playlist of that place’s 100 most distinctive tunes. Some of the preferences are little surprise, with heavy interest in artists from that region. For instance, the New Orleans playlist is dominated by local jazz acts such as the Rebirth Brass Band and Dr. John, while Rio de Janiero’s list covers a wide swath of latin and jazz crossover genres. But it also has plenty of surprises to uncover. Apparently Stockholm listeners really dig a particular live cut of Journey’s epic “Don’t Stop Believin.”
The map includes about a thousand cities and the playlists will be updated bimonthly.