Abstract

Music streaming services (MSS) employ algorithmic personalization to recognize individual taste and identity. Communities of African descent, however, music has historically functioned as a site of cultural survival, resistance, and self -expression. This prompts critical questions about whether algorithmic personalization can authentically “see” Black users. This work examines the personalization practices of the MSS, particularly those constructed by Spotify, and whether they adequately account for race and ethnicity or reproduce forms of exclusion and discrimination. The research asks: (1) Can algorithmic personalization replicate analog and community-informed practices of music curation? (2) Does the omission of race in personalization constitute a discriminatory practice? Rhetorical criticism and radical critique are the critical methods used in this study. The study’s findings indicate that MSS personalization privileges aggregated listening trends, commercial imperatives, and whiteness as the default norm, resulting in misrecognition, genre substitution, and diminished representation of Black users. The work argues that personalization without intentional racial inclusion functions as a veneer that obscures structural bias. These findings underscore the need for greater transparency, inclusive design, and accountability in algorithmic personalization, particularly where music operates as a core marker of cultural identity.

Key Words: Music Streaming Services, Personalization, Algorithms, Discrimination, Spotify

About the Author

*Solomon W. Cochren, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A. His research interests include rhetoric, media studies, race, and cultural criticism. 

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 18, No. 1, April 2026, pp. 56-68.

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

Article Citation

Cochren, S. W. (2026). Nothing personal about personalization: Discrimination practices within music streaming services' personalization. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 18 (1): 56-68.

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