beyond the play button - the future of listening

Beyond the Play Button - SXSW 2014 - #PlayButton

Beyond the Play ButtonThe future of listening

Paul LamereThe Echo Nest

SXSW March 11, 2013#sxsw #PlayButton

Tuesday, March 11, 14


The 1979 iPod



The 1979 iPod

Vinyl Cassette

CD



Digital Music Milestones

2001 2003 2007 2008

1979 1995 1999



All listeners are not created equal



Four listener types

Savants

Enthusiasts

Casuals

Indifferents

Survey conducted in 2003 and again in 2006 by Emap



0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Savants Engaged Casuals Indifferents

Distribution of Listener Types

10%

20%

30%

40%



0%

10%

20%

30%

40%



>$1,000

$100

$10

$1Dollars spent per year by listener type



0%

10%

20%

30%

40%



100+10

10

Average Interactions per Listening Session



Money to spendMusical sophistication

Interaction

Savant Engaged Casual Indifferent

More Less

70% of listeners

Lean forward Lean back



I like AdeleWhat should I pick?

Interfaces built for engaged music fans will challenge

the casual or indifferent fan

One size doesn’t fit all



Better than radio

The challenge: to engage casual and indifferent listeners



Understanding the Listener

Demographics

Music Taste

Context



Demographics

• Gender

• Age

• Location

How much does a listener’s

demographic affect their listening?



Gender

How does a listener’s gender affect their taste in music?



Gender Skewed Playlists

http://static.echonest.com/contextual/gender.html



Gender Skewed Playlists

http://static.echonest.com/contextual/gender.html


http://static.echonest.com/contextual/gender.html?

http://static.echonest.com/contextual/gender.html?


Top gender-skewed artists

• Iron Maiden• Rage Against the Machine• Van Halen• N.W.A• Jimi Hendrix• Limp Bizkit• Wu-Tang Clan• Xzibit• The Who• Moby

• Danity Kane• Cody Simpson• Hannah Montana• Emily Osment• Playa Limbo• Vanessa Hudgens• Sandoval• Miranda Lambert• Sugarland• Aly & AJ

Skews Male Skews Female



Top genres by gender

• Pop• Dance Pop• Contemporary Hit Radio• Urban Contemporary• R&B• Hot Adult Contemporary• Latin Pop• Teen Pop• Neo soul• Latin• Pop rock• Contemporary country

• Rock• Hip Hop• House• Album Rock• Rap• Pop Rap• Indie Rock• Funk Rock• Gangster Rap• Electro house• Classic rock• Nu metal

Top female genres Top male genres



Age

How does a listener’s age affect their taste in music?



Distribution of listeners by ageR

elat

ive

num

ber

of li

sten

ers

Year of Birth

22 y/o

32

42

5262



Age specific listening preferences

• Skrillex• Emblem3• Sage The Gemini• Selena Gomez & The Scene• Barden Bellas• Karmin• Cher Lloyd• Mac Miller• The Treblemakers• Little Mix• Hannah Montana• Ross Lynch• Zedd

• Roy Orbison • James Taylor• Jackson Browne• The Everly Brothers• Neil Diamond• Willie Nelson• The Doors• Tony Bennett• Cat Stevens• Bee Gees• Rod Stewart• Nat King Cole• Joni Mitchell

13-year-old 64-year-old



Age specific listening preferences13-year-old 64-year-old



LocationHow does where a listener’s lives

affect their taste in music?



Regional listening preferences



Listener’s Music Taste



Context



Automatically building contextual playlists



AutomaticallyInferringContext

From Activity

PersonalizedImplicit

Contextual


Beyond the Play Button - SXSW 2014 - #PlayButtonThe most boring data

Next gen devices



Zero UI devices


Beyond the Play Button - SXSW 2014 - #PlayButtonThe most boring data



Lean Forward Listener

Experience

Discovery

Interaction



Money to spendMusical sophistication

Interaction

Savant Engaged Casual Indifferent

More Less



Enhancing the listening experience

http://www.stanford.edu/~dgleich/demos/worldofmusic/WorldOfMusic.htmlTuesday, March 11, 14

Beyond the Play Button - SXSW 2014 - #PlayButton http://www.stanford.edu/~dgleich/demos/worldofmusic/WorldOfMusic.htmlTuesday, March 11, 14


Tinie Tempah Rap Demonstration

Created by British agency We Make Awesome Sh.


http://wemakeawesomesh.it/we

http://wemakeawesomesh.it/we


Tinie Tempah Rap Demonstration



Attention Deficit Radio



Music discovery for the more active listener



Music discovery as path finding

http://www.stanford.edu/~dgleich/demos/worldofmusic/WorldOfMusic.htmlTuesday, March 11, 14

http://www.stanford.edu/~dgleich/demos/worldofmusic/WorldOfMusic.html

http://www.stanford.edu/~dgleich/demos/worldofmusic/WorldOfMusic.html


There must be five ways to get from Miley Cyrus to Cannibal Corpse



Six Degrees of Black Sabbath

Path finding through the artistcollaboration space



Boil the Frog

Path finding through the artistsimilarity space



Going Under Cover

Path finding through the cover song space



Roadtrip Mixtape

Path finding through the physical space



3D Music Maze

Path finding through a virtual game space


Interactive listening


The Bonhamizer Some songs just need a little bit of Bonzo

f.u.n.

bonhamizer.com


http://TRSBVUT12F87DF0212



f.u.n.

+

John Bonham

bonhamizer.com





f.u.n.

+

John Bonham

improved!=

bonhamizer.com





The Infinite JukeboxFor when your favorite song isn’t long enough



Visualizing the structure of pop music



Tik Tok by Ke$ha



Paparazzi by Lady Gaga



Baby by Justin Bieber



Fearless by Taylor Swift



Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin



Raise your weapon by Deadmau5



Take Five by Dave Brubeck



Green Grass and High Tides by The Outlaws



Roundabout by Yes



Cello Suite No.1, Yo-Yo Ma



4’33 by John Cage (Live performance)



Nyan Cat



Girl Talk in a Box



I’ve got 30 million songs in my pocket.Now what?

The future of music listening:

Engage the indifferents

Empower the the music fan



Beyond the Play ButtonPaul Lamere@plamereThe Echo Nest // Spotify

SXSW March 11, 2013

#sxsw #PlayButton

Links to slides, demos and supporting data can be found at:

musicmachinery.com


beyond the play button - the future of listening

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