The Rise of Spotify, with Liz Pelly

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Music has become increasingly playlisted, personalized, and autoplayed. But how did we get here, and what does it mean for artists, listeners, and the music industry as a whole? In today’s episode, journalist Liz Pelly unpacks the origins of Spotify, its meteoric rise, and its transformative impact on the way we create and experience music. Whilst researching for her new book, Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, Pelly conducted over one hundred interviews with industry insiders, former Spotify employees, and musicians. Liz Pelly is a music journalist and author living in New York. Her essays and reporting have appeared in the Baffler, where she is a contributing editor, as well as in the Guardian, NPR, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. She’s joined by Timandra Harkness, writer, presenter and author of Technology is Not the Problem, for a conversation on the ethics of streaming, the economics of playlists, and the hidden costs of the “perfect” listening experience. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:54.3	Head to vanta.com slash Spotify to learn more.
0:58.8	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
1:02.4	I'm producer Leila Ishmael.
1:05.3	Over the years, music has become increasingly playlisted, personalized and auto-played.
1:10.7	But how did we get here and what
1:12.7	does it mean for artists, listeners and the music industry as a whole? In today's episode,
1:18.3	music journalist Liz Pelly unpacks the origins of Spotify, its meteoric rise and its
1:23.8	transformative impact on the way that we create and experience music.
1:33.2	Whilst researching for her new book, Mood Machine, The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist,
1:39.2	Pelly conducts over 100 interviews with industry insiders, former Spotify employees and musicians.
1:44.4	She's joined by writer Tamandra Harkness for a conversation on the ethics of streaming,
	...

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