As a counterpoint, I feel like my experience with platforms such as bandcamp, YouTube, private trackers, etc. replicate much of the serendipity of a record shop, while vastly increasing discoverability.
I love going into a record shop as much as the next guy, but I do find that I discover more new things which actually stick via the internet. I also find that I am able to rely more on network-based algorithms for discoverability if the community is well-aligned. Even better if I can navigate myself when the underlying data is exposed via similarity maps, tags and other hypertext.
Recommendation algorithms we see on corporate social platforms (Spotify included) generally suck because the underlying data is not exposed to the user. That would be bad for ad revenue. These platforms enjoy the profound level of mind control which they employ towards their users, and are loathe to surrender it.
I love going into a record shop as much as the next guy, but I do find that I discover more new things which actually stick via the internet. I also find that I am able to rely more on network-based algorithms for discoverability if the community is well-aligned. Even better if I can navigate myself when the underlying data is exposed via similarity maps, tags and other hypertext.
Recommendation algorithms we see on corporate social platforms (Spotify included) generally suck because the underlying data is not exposed to the user. That would be bad for ad revenue. These platforms enjoy the profound level of mind control which they employ towards their users, and are loathe to surrender it.