The Soundtrack of Discovery: Exploring the Impact of Spotify’s Recommender System and Algorithm Awareness on Musical Taste Expansion

[PRE-RELEASED VERSION]

Heiko Reusch, Udo Bomnüter, Annalena Ellersdorfer

Heiko Reusch is a professor of media management and journalism at Macromedia University of Applied Sciences, specializing in digital journalism and data literacy. His research addresses contemporary challenges such as data disinformation, algorithm awareness, and AI literacy. Additionally, he brings practical insights from his roles as a journalist and editorial manager at MTV, FluxFM, and Zeit-Online.
Udo Bomnüter is a professor of media management at Jade University of Applied Sciences and managing director of the independent film company Valerian Film. His interdisciplinary research focuses on media business models, film and media policy, transmediality, and algorithmic literacy. He has authored contributions for the Journal of Media Business Studies, the International Journal of Arts Management, and the Springer Handbook of State Aid for Film, among others.
Annalena Ellersdorfer holds a master’s degree in music management from Hochschule Macromedia, where she concentrated her research on recommender systems in music streaming services. She is currently working in the music industry.

ABSTRACT
Music streaming platforms such as Spotify have fundamentally reshaped how users discover and consume music by employing personalized recommender systems. This study examines how two user-centered factors, algorithm awareness and the perceived value of a recommender system, affect the expansion of musical taste among users aged 25 to 34, Spotify’s core demographic. Based on a quantitative survey (n=129) and subsequent multiple regression analysis, the results show that perceived value significantly predicts the expansion of musical taste, while algorithm awareness does not exhibit a meaningful effect. These findings highlight the behavioral relevance of perceived system quality and raise questions about the practical impact of user knowledge regarding algorithmic processes.
KEYWORDS
Algorithmic curation; perceived value; algorithm awareness; recommender systems; music streaming service; Spotify