Google Play has really misogynistic algos, it seems to get really hung up on the gender of an artist.
Want to listen to artists like a female? Then obviously you only want to listen to female artists! I once tried it on a few different female artists, Tori Amos, Laura Marling, etc. It really just focuses in on the gender, which is annoying as I just want to listen to the genre.
Yeah, I ummed over using that word but left it in as it feels as if the original categorisation by Google was done by a misogynist which the algo learned from. The malice is learned.
If you look at Hole, for example, a classic grunge band you can love or hate, most "related artists" are female artists. The Pumpkins and Nirvana are mixed in as token includes, one because it was her husband, the other because Billy Corgan produced one of their albums. Look at Nirvana, almost all male artists, with Hole being the only female artist. Veruca Salt or Garbage are exactly the same. Juliana Hatfield has more males than most, but they're mainly her ex-band mates. (I bet you can tell roughly how old I am from that list ;)
And that holds true for modern artists too. Look at related artists for Courtney Barnett, The Joy Formidable or Laura Marling and again it's predominately females, while if you look at one of the only male bands on Courtney Barnett's related artist lists, Twin Peaks, it's all male artists.
There is deliberate, systematic, segregation by sex of the artist happening at Google Play.
Laura Marling, for example, is a strong part of Modern British Folk, and that she's being side-lined by google algos is pretty malicious in my book (Short Movie (Director's Cut) is an excellent album if you want a go).
EDIT: researching and writing this makes me realize I can't keep paying for Google Play, I hadn't realized how deeply rooted the problem was in the platform.
Checking Spotify for related artists to Nirvana: Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins
Oh dear! All male, not even the single female that Google provided. Spotify must be even more misogynist... or perhaps these bands are just the most commonly listened to by people who listen to Nirvana [1]
"Spotify's related artists and radio are determined by algorithms which look at what people listen to alongside your music."
> it feels as if the original categorisation by Google was done by a misogynist which the algo learned from
No, it was left in for people like me that _do_ have a strong preference for the voice of the singer. I love my trance music with smooth female vocals, and having men in that mix would be unenjoyable for me.
I think a nice feature for apps like this would be optional granular control of the aspects of the mix that you want. If votes lead to parts of a mix that you don't like(like certain vocals), it would be nice if I could explicitly remove that from the mix.
Want to listen to artists like a female? Then obviously you only want to listen to female artists! I once tried it on a few different female artists, Tori Amos, Laura Marling, etc. It really just focuses in on the gender, which is annoying as I just want to listen to the genre.