The data is interesting on its own, but Spotify took things a step further with Play it Forward, where the streaming platform can create a personalized playlist of songs based on what you liked most in 2014. Spotify took my alternative dance/shimmer pop taste and spun it into an interesting list of 30 songs.
I only recognized two artists and not one of the tracks. A little research confirmed that most of the musicians were up-and-comers, so it was nice to see many new names to explore. On listening, the list trended more into the hipster indie pop arena than I would have expected from the electronic-heavy songs that dominated my 2014 choices, but I still enjoyed a good proportion of the recommendations.
The success of your Play it Forward list probably depends on how much data you’ve supplied to Spotify. I tend to use it to look up specific albums or listen to a handful of playlists that I made myself, so I haven’t presented the platform with the clearest picture of my tastes. Meanwhile, RAIN News Managing Editor Brad Hill’s more than 10,000 minutes listened in 2014 yielded a list that he said was full of perfect matches for his downtempo taste.