Every streaming music service has access to more songs than any of us will be able to listen to in our lifetimes. The number of available tracks varies between 20 and 27 million, depending on who’s doing the bragging.
More is good, right? Sure. But here’s a fascinating stat from Spotify. Of the 20 million or so songs in their library, 20% of them–at least 4 million tracks–have never been streamed. Not once. In five years.
I’d guess that many of these tracks are from indie bands who have uploaded their stuff and have yet to be discovered for whatever reason. So much for that aspect of the Long Tail theory.
RAIN has a great idea, though: create an “Untouched Tracks” playlist to encourage people to explore these songs that have never been heard before. Promote it like crazy.
Hell, not only should Spotify do this, but so should iTunes, Radio, Deezer, The Vault and anyone else who maintains a vast digital library. What treasure awaits?
Leave a Comment