by Ally Gagne '26 on February 26, 2026

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A&E - Music

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My Spotify interface is a sacred space. I have been perfectly curating my most impressive playlists for years, and I take pride in the upkeep of these greats. Being the busy senior that I am, I haven’t been able to sit down and comb through my playlists in the way that I used to. This is something I’ve decided I need to get back to, because I can’t sleep knowing that there are people out there with better playlists than me. 

My playlists are much more than combinations of songs. To me, they are my own art projects. A good playlist is supposed to be able to transport its listener to a time or place outside of themselves, or make them feel a specific way that just one song can’t do alone. Playlists are an important part of knowing and loving music, and I’m going to let you in on the secrets of how to build a darn good one. 

Step 1: Listen to entire albums. 

In order to build a good playlist, you have to build a good mental music library first. What helps me when I’m building my playlists is visualizing a library in my brain, giving artists their own shelves with the songs of theirs that I know, and pulling down my favorite records off the shelf. No good library has empty shelves! But seriously, to be able to compile a group of songs into a playlist, you need to have a good enough baseline knowledge of artists that you like, or at least be open to diving a little deeper into some new songs. 

Step 2: Decide where you’re going…or don’t! 

Oftentimes when I’m building a playlist, I know the exact moment or place I’m trying to encapsulate, and I have to start by closing my eyes and bringing myself there. For example, one of my favorite playlists that I’ve made is called “Force 5,” the name of a small surf shop I grew up going to every summer on vacation. Every memory I have of going into that store is centered around the music that was always playing in the background, and how that music made the environment feel. Having upbeat, beachy music playing in the store made sense since it is a surf shop, but that background music became so crucial to my experience in the store that now whenever I hear it, I’m brought right back there. That’s why I decided to create that playlist, to transport myself not just to Force 5, but to a warm summer day, just from hearing that music. 

Sometimes when I go to create a playlist, I don’t necessarily have a specific time or place in mind that I’m trying to recreate, but more so a feeling. Music carries a lot of power with it, where it can evoke some pretty strong feelings through just a few notes, and sometimes creating a good playlist is about finding the right songs to go together that all evoke that same feeling. Without necessarily knowing exactly where I’m going at first, sometimes I find that the best playlists get made by picking a few songs that feel the same, and seeing where that takes me. I have synesthesia, so when I listen to music, I not only hear it, but I also see it and truly feel it in a way that many others don’t. I find this to be a gift, where I get to listen to music with a much different perspective, and sometimes it even helps me categorize music in a specific way that makes sense to me. Some of my best playlists only make sense to me, but that’s the beauty of a good playlist, because at the end of the day, it is truly for YOU. How you want to interpret music and categorize it is up to you and only you, making playlist building a very individualized experience. 

Step 3: Always keep listening and adding 

One of my biggest tips I can offer once you start making a playlist is this: a great playlist is never truly done. Even when you feel like it’s complete and the story you’re trying to tell has been told, there is always room for improvement and new additions. Once you know where you’re going (or at least have a feeling), then it becomes easy and honestly so fun to start compiling songs. The act of building the playlist itself is, at least for me, therapeutic, where I get to go back and enjoy listening to some of my old favorites while discovering and loving new songs too. The great thing about music is that it’s always evolving, and there is constantly great new music coming out that you can experience. If you continue to be curious, you’ll find that there is an infinite pool of music out there if you just dive in, and swimming through it is the most fun part!

by on March 26, 2022

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A&E - Music

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Spotify Songwriter Controversy

Writers Protest the Streaming Service’s Pay Policies

Grace O’Connor ’22

 Spotify has become a world-renowned music-streaming app, boasting over 406 million active users and 106 million paying subscribers as of Dec. 2021. According to Variety, “the platform rose from 7 [percent] of the U.S. market in 2010 to a whopping 83 [percent] by the end of 2020—and recorded-music revenues saw their fifth consecutive year of growth, topping $12.2 billion, per the RIAA.” The magazine went on to add, “it’s no understatement to say that streaming saved the recorded-music business and that global market leader Spotify [has] led the charge toward the stability and growth that the industry enjoys today.” Needless to say, over the course of the past few years, Spotify has grown exponentially in popularity and success—as well as in its impact on the music industry. 

Songwriters, however, are not necessarily sharing in the bounty. On March 1, 2022, over 100 of these talented creators took to the streets of Los Angeles in a protest planned by activist group the 100 Percenters to express their dissatisfaction with Spotify’s current policies. More specifically, according to OkayPlayer, they are protesting the fact that the streaming service only gives most songwriters 0.003 percent of a penny per stream. 

Among those songwriters protesting is Kennedi Lykken. In a statement to The Los Angeles Times, Lykken expressed that her last royalty check totaled only $432. She has worked on tracks for Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, and Britney Spears. She has also won a Grammy Award. Needless to say, her impressive record calls for more than minimal royalties. 

Songwriters have been battling the “0.003 percent” rule for several years now. The 100 Percenters, the nonprofit organization leading the current protests against Spotify, was founded back in 2020 by a small group of individuals including songwriter Tiffany Red. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Red, who has written for Zendaya and Jeniffer Hudson, expressed her frustration that “people will say to her, ‘Oh, you’re a ghostwriter’” and explained that to such remarks, she always asserts, “‘I’m not a ghost, I’m a person.’” This is precisely the sentiment that 100 Percenters hopes to convey in their fight against the disproportionately low payment rate for songwriters. 

Another songwriter, Kaydence Tice, spoke up at the recent protest to share her story. Tice worked with Beyonce to co-write “Black Parade,” and despite such a massive hit to her name, she can barely afford to pay rent. 

Unfortunately, these songwriters’ stories are the norm in the industry, rather than the exception. Indeed, there are innumerable other songwriters with similar stories, songwriters whose success Spotify has not acknowledged with proper compensation. 

The manner in which Spotify is treating songwriters is ironic considering that the platform is meant to celebrate and highlight their talents. As singer-songwriter Heather Bright expressed in a powerful statement, “you can feel the oppression and the disrespect when you’re in rooms with people who have million-dollar homes while [you] have nothing.” 

Bright’s statement echoes the sense of degradation and dehumanization that songwriters are experiencing at Spotify’s hands. Hopefully, the streaming giant will soon realize its songwriters’ value, and treat them as they deserve.

by on February 10, 2022

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A&E - Music

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Spotify Controversy: Upholding the Freedom of Speech or Enabling Misinformation?

Joni Mitchell & Neil Young Pull Their Catalogues from the Streaming Service in Protest

Grace Whitman ’22

Joni Mitchell is skating down the river she’s always wished for and away from Spotify. 

Following Neil Young’s lead, the artist has officially removed her full discography from the streaming platform. Mitchell and Young are protesting what they feel is Spotify’s active promotion of misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, as the streaming service is giving a platform to content creators such as Joe Rogan. In 2020, Spotify bought the rights to Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience for $100 million. The show has featured several controversial guests such as Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough, the latter of whom has claimed that the pandemic was deliberately planned and that the vaccines created to combat it are killing thousands of people. In response, 270 physicians and scientists wrote an open letter to Spotify demanding that the company do more to address misinformation about vaccines and the pandemic on its platform.

Spotify has defended their choice to keep The Joe Rogan Experience on their platform. They believe it is their duty to uphold free speech and allow different viewpoints to be expressed. Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek said, “With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place, and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret [artists’] decision to remove [their] music from Spotify but hope to welcome [them] back soon.” 

Although Spotify has chosen to not censor The Joe Rogan Experience, protests from artists such as Young and Mitchell have led them to add disclaimers to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19. Press Secretary Jen Psaki praised this move, but also demanded that the streaming giant do even more to limit the platform that they give to misinformation spreaders.

Many Spotify users are following Young and Mitchell’s lead and switching to other streaming platforms in protest. Martha DePoy ’22 is one of these protestors. When asked why she chose to cancel her Spotify subscription, she stated, “I’m switching to Apple Music because while I fully support free speech, I don’t agree with or support the platform Spotify has given to content creators who spread lies for money. If I’m going to pay for a streaming service, I want the music from all my favorite artists including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to be available to me.” With that being said, Rogan’s podcast garners millions of daily listeners, many more than Neil and Mitchell’s works, which presents an enormous financial opportunity for Spotify. This motive for Spotify’s course of action has left artists and music consumers alike wondering what the streaming giant’s mission is: are financial gains more important to the company than the health and safety of listeners?