Nothing Personal: Music Streaming Recommenders and Algorithmic Individuation

• In Event: Surveillance and Control

Abstract

Raymond Williams once wrote “…there are in fact no masses, but only ways of seeing people as masses.” In an age of personalized media the word ‘masses’ seems like an anachronism. Nevertheless, if Williams were to study contemporary online platforms he would no doubt conclude that there are in fact no individuals, but only ways of seeing people as individuals. This paper explores this idea by taking a closer look at the recommendation engines that power online music streaming services. It first conducts a comparison of how two leading streaming platforms conceive of the individual music listener. Then, drawing from Gilbert Simondon’s theory of individuation, it is argued that ways of seeing the individual are simultaneously ways of producing the individual. In particular, ways of seeing are heavily influenced by the consumer categories that are defined and demanded by advertisers. This paper concludes with an examination of how commercial imperatives shape ‘ways of seeing’ and ‘algorithmic individuation’ on music streaming platforms.

Author

• Robert Prey, U of Groningen