Spotify’s algorithm uses the Bandits for Recommendations as Treatments (BART) model. This system has two parts: the exploitation and exploration models.
The platform’s exploitation model recommends content based on the user’s past activity, such as their listening history, songs they skip, and playlists they like.
A new listener with no history lacks data for the exploitation model to work, giving way to the exploration model. It suggests popular music in a listener’s location and gathers data from how they respond.
Spotify’s algorithm uses the Bandits for Recommendations as Treatments (BART) model. This system has two parts: the exploitation and exploration models.
The platform’s exploitation model recommends content based on the user’s past activity, such as their listening history, songs they skip, and playlists they like.
A new listener with no history lacks data for the exploitation model to work, giving way to the exploration model. It suggests popular music in a listener’s location and gathers data from how they respond.
BART uses the following methods to make its suggestions to listeners:
- Natural Language Processing
In this method, the system analyzes the language and lyrics of a song to establish its content.
- Raw Audio Analyses
BART analyzes the sound attributes such as tempo, instrumentals, beats, and many others to detect the vibe of a song’s audio.
- Collaborative Filtering
The system compares new releases to a user’s current listening habits on the platform to decide whether or not they are likely to enjoy them.
- The 30-second Rule
According to Matthew Ogle, the sweet spot for the recommendation algorithm lies here. It defines a successful recommendation based on whether a user listens to a song for more than 30 seconds. If they skip it before that time, the algorithm does not suggest it to them again.
How Artists Can Take Advantage of the Spotify Algorithm
The Spotify algorithm uses a lot of sophisticated statistics to make recommendations. Numbers from a user’s listening history, skip rate, listening period, and playlists are necessary factors for the algorithm.
With this knowledge, artists can create strategies that will help them reach more listeners on the streaming service.