Mikey Shulman

In some sense, it gets harder. In some sense, it gets easier. People don't realize the extent to which discovery is already extremely algorithmic now, and that you are not always being fed as much of the long tail as maybe you want, or maybe it is exactly what you want.

I think people don't realize the extent to which the music that is popular is a product of recommendation algorithms. You should ask somebody at Spotify or TikTok and not me. I think that they probably reverse the causality. Things break on TikTok and then they become famous on Spotify.

I think people don't realize the extent to which the music that is popular is a product of recommendation algorithms. You should ask somebody at Spotify or TikTok and not me. I think that they probably reverse the causality. Things break on TikTok and then they become famous on Spotify.

I think people don't realize the extent to which the music that is popular is a product of recommendation algorithms. You should ask somebody at Spotify or TikTok and not me. I think that they probably reverse the causality. Things break on TikTok and then they become famous on Spotify.

But that is a function of both algorithms and people pushing music and not necessarily only a function of the quality of the music.

But that is a function of both algorithms and people pushing music and not necessarily only a function of the quality of the music.

But that is a function of both algorithms and people pushing music and not necessarily only a function of the quality of the music.

They're both really important bits of that ecosystem.

They're both really important bits of that ecosystem.

They're both really important bits of that ecosystem.

I think that's right. But a lot of what becomes popular is also found on TikTok first.

I think that's right. But a lot of what becomes popular is also found on TikTok first.

I think that's right. But a lot of what becomes popular is also found on TikTok first.

I hope that Spotify wins. It would mean that people are finding music more engaging. Like YouTube is more engaging than Spotify as measured by the amount of the ARPU for ads, for example, right? Why do you think that is? Video is engaging. There's a ton of just background listening to music, which on its face is not bad.

I hope that Spotify wins. It would mean that people are finding music more engaging. Like YouTube is more engaging than Spotify as measured by the amount of the ARPU for ads, for example, right? Why do you think that is? Video is engaging. There's a ton of just background listening to music, which on its face is not bad.

I hope that Spotify wins. It would mean that people are finding music more engaging. Like YouTube is more engaging than Spotify as measured by the amount of the ARPU for ads, for example, right? Why do you think that is? Video is engaging. There's a ton of just background listening to music, which on its face is not bad.

I'm not anti-background listening to music, but there's so much more that is possible. You know, I'll point this out to people. Like I interview a lot of engineers, maybe a hundred percent. I'm not sure I've interviewed an engineer in the last two years. that does not listen to music while they code. But the whole point of that is not to pay attention to that music, right?

I'm not anti-background listening to music, but there's so much more that is possible. You know, I'll point this out to people. Like I interview a lot of engineers, maybe a hundred percent. I'm not sure I've interviewed an engineer in the last two years. that does not listen to music while they code. But the whole point of that is not to pay attention to that music, right?

I'm not anti-background listening to music, but there's so much more that is possible. You know, I'll point this out to people. Like I interview a lot of engineers, maybe a hundred percent. I'm not sure I've interviewed an engineer in the last two years. that does not listen to music while they code. But the whole point of that is not to pay attention to that music, right?

Like so much more is possible with music than like something you put on the background to deliberately not pay attention to it.