Besides a much-celebrated surprise appearance by former first lady Michelle Obama, this year’s Grammy Awards passed without much drama. Older music fans enjoyed Dolly Parton and Aretha Franklin tributes, and lovers of rap celebrated Childish Gambino’s historic win.
But the most outstanding element of the evening was its obscurity. Who were all of those artists? Unless you spend every week analyzing the Billboard Hot 100, you probably didn’t recognize many of them. In America, we don’t all listen to the same music anymore, which means we can tune in to our favorite genres while avoiding every top track of the day. For that, we can thank Spotify.
The music streaming giant boasts 96 million paying subscribers across the globe, and music lovers increasingly turn to it and other services to fill their unique tastes. Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora all allow listeners to hear what they already love — and find more music like it.
Each December, Spotify listeners enjoy sharing their top artists and songs from the year. The service breaks down listening patterns into your most-listened genres and even creates a “Tastebreakers” playlist so you can discover music you may like but wouldn’t normally listen to. Add that to the “Discover Weekly” and “Your Daily Mix” playlists, and you never have to hear country if you like pop, or hip hop if you prefer indie. Spotify offers professionally curated playlists for every mood, from “Femme Fatale” to “RapCaviar.”
It doesn’t matter that Drake, winner of best rap song, is superficial, or that Ariana Grande, winner of best pop vocal album, is repetitive. Many of the best artists will never make it to the Grammys. Instead of tuning into a three-plus-hour-long awards show, you can listen to the obscure albums you love from your phone.
People want music that fits their vibe, and the Billboard Hot 100 just isn’t doing it anymore. So the big winner of the 2019 Grammys was not Kacey Musgraves, Dua Lipa, or Lady Gaga. It was Spotify.
