Spotify has tapped an unexpected source to build you the perfect playlist
Spotify has tapped an unexpected source to cue up a perfect playlist for your day: the weather report.
Partnering with Accuweather, Spotify built Climatune, a website that generates playlists based on the weather in your location. The playlist-generator follows a yearlong research project that compared music streamed on Spotify to data compiled at 1,000 weather stations. Turns out, the weather seems to play a factor in the music you stream.
“For almost all of the top cities around the world, sunny days translates to happier-sounding music,” Ian Anderson, a Spotify data researcher, said in a blog post by the streaming service.
Rainy days tend to call for slower-sounding acoustic music and snowy days tend to have you seeking instrumental songs.
Some songs are more popular in certain cities, depending on the weather. For instance, sunny Denver sees a lot of plays of "American Boy" by Estelle and Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Rainy Los Angeles, meanwhile loves "7 Years," by Lukas Graham and "i hate u, i love you," by gnash.
The strength of the weather's impact varies a bit by location.
“Sunny weather has a bigger impact in Europe," the blog states, although the Brits seem to have quite a different take on gloomy weather.
For one, Leeds plays happier music on cloudy days while Liverpool and Manchester both play more energetic music when it snows.
Marissa is a real-time news intern at the LA office. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She's a free spirit.
