Stories and Data: Australian Musicians Navigating the Spotify for Artists Platform

Spotify offers users powerful algorithmic recommendations and hybrid "algo-torial" curation at scale. In this paper we argue that juxtaposed within this data-driven platform, is the power of human stories and networking. We investigate the experiences of 10 Australian musicians through semi-structured interviews, asking how they navigate the Spotify for Artists interface. By attending to the experiences of the artists themselves, and their use of the Spotify for Artists platform, we explore the human stories that flow within this socio-technical music streaming network, arguing that stories, like data, have an important role and value in this context.