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Tag: Streaming service

  • Algorithmic recommendations inaccurate for some music lovers

    Algorithmic recommendations inaccurate for some music lovers

    The music streaming industry has become popular today, having more than 400 million subscribers worldwide, according to analytics firm Statista

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    Algorithms help users search, sort and filter music from range of collections. But the suggestions may be inaccurate for fans of non-mainstream music like pop and hard rock, according to a study titled ‘Support the underground: characteristics of beyond-mainstream music listeners’ by the Graz University of Technology in Austria.

    The team of researchers used a dataset containing listening histories of 4,148 users of the music streaming platform Last.fm who listened mostly to non-mainstream music or mostly mainstream music.

    Also Read | Spotify launches Loud & Clear to shed light on artistes’ revenues and streaming stats

    They noticed the algorithm categorised music listeners into four main types: listeners of genres with only acoustic instruments like folk, users of high-energy music like hard rock and pop, users of music with no acoustics and no vocals like ambient music, and listeners of high-energy music with no vocals like electronica.

    By comparing each group’s listening histories, they noted that the willingness of a user to listen to music outside of their primary preferences also had a positive effect on the quality of recommendations.

    This indicated a bias in music recommendation algorithm, with listeners of high-energy music receiving the least accurate music recommendations and those who mainly listened to ambient music.

    Also Read | First-ever non-fungible token-based rock album is out

    This isn’t the first time algorithm-based music recommendations have been criticised of bias. A separate study by the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain said that the algorithm is more likely to pick up music by male artists than female artists.

    The music streaming industry has become popular today, having more than 400 million subscribers worldwide, according to analytics firm Statista.

  • Netflix testing facility that may limit password sharing

    Netflix testing facility that may limit password sharing

    Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, tests new features with frequent users and it is unclear whether the need for home verification will be implemented more widely

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    Netflix Inc. is testing a feature that asks viewers to verify that they share a home with an account holder, the company said Thursday, a move that could lead to a clampdown on password sharing is.

    A small number of Netflix users are receiving a message asking them to confirm that they live with the account owner by entering details from a text message or email sent to the owner.

    Viewers can delay verification and keep watching Netflix. When they reopen Netflix the message may reappear, and eventually they may need to open a new account to continue streaming.

    Also read India’s new digital media rules will harm open Internet: Mozilla

    “This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” a Netflix spokesperson said.

    Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, tests new features with frequent users and it is unclear whether the need for home verification will be implemented more widely.

    Netflix’s terms of service say that users of an account must live in the same house, although the company and other streaming services have largely refused to crack the sharing.

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