Hitting the High Notes
What’s nice about this project is that it uses data from 2014 so it’s fairly recent. Also, the charts showing the data are visually pleasing and clear to follow. What makes them even better is that they are interactive! People can look up information about specific artists right there within the project.
Throughout the project, the author does a good job of introducing graphics and facts and explaining their purpose. The author also adds a section explaining the significance of the culture during the song release and how that connects to its popularity. They acknowledge how this can also alter how newer generations enjoy the music. Still, when talking about culture the project flowed very well together.
A Little off Pitch
As mentioned in the project, the age demographic for the users of Spotify can’t produce exact information. According to Statista, 55% of Spotify’s users are 18-34. Making up only 11% of the users on Spotify are people ages 45-54 which is the prime age for people who listened to that music. Also, not everyone uses Spotify, there are apps like Pandora, Iheartradio, and Apple music. If anyone uses those apps instead of Spotify then this project cant accurately shows the “most timeless song”.
A nice feature of Spotify is that it has premade playlists for users to enjoy. But these have the same effect of trending pages on Instagram or for you pages on TikTok. The app will suggest media to you and the more people that like it, the more it will be promoted. This can naturally exclude and phase out music all because the initial few didn’t prefer it. So some songs don’t have a chance to get popular with a new generation because they aren’t in the right playlist.
Is it helpful?
If you’re looking to settle a debate with a friend definitely! If you want to make the ultimate hits playlist of a certain decade this would be perfect. Any DJ could find a project like this very helpful for cresting the perfect playlist for the right age group.
