Why are music recommendation algorithms unfair to female artists?
Music recommendation algorithms seem to be unfair to female artists, exacerbating existing gender inequalities in the music industry.
According to a new study by UPF Barcelona, algorithms tailoring music recommendations for listeners are more likely to feature music created by male artists, to the detriment of female artists.
The authors tested a commonly used music recommendation algorithm and analysed the results of two datasets. In both cases, they found that the algorithm reproduces the existing bias in the dataset, in which only 25% of artists are women.
The authors say that on average, male artists feature on top of recommendation by streaming platforms, whereas women come in at the sixth or seventh position. In addition, the proportion of songs by women on these lists is much lesser than music by men.
Researchers explain that algorithmic biases not only minimize the exposure female musicians receive in the short term, but have a wide-ranging impact. Recommendation systems learn from the choices people make and are designed to offer future suggestions based on what people choose. If users keep selecting male artists who top these lists, the recommendation algorithm will show them more of this category.
In the long run, algorithms can bury content by women deeper down the lists, creating a vicious cycle of what some call a ‘feedback loop’, researchers say.
Music industry is still overwhelmingly male
The study comes amid a broader discussion and concerns regarding gender inequality in the music industry, as female musicians, producers and executives continue to be underrepresented.
Data show that the representation of women and gender minorities in the music industry is tremendously low. About 23% of artists in the 2019 Billboard 100 were women or gender minorities. At the same time, women represent 20% or less of registered composers and songwriters.
Last year’s USC Annenberg music report, examining the gender and race of content creators across 800 top songs from 2012 to 2019, showed that while the demographic makeup of the music industry has improved a bit over the previous year, things were nowhere close to equal. In 2019, for instance, 22.5% of the top songs were made by female artists, bounding up from 16.8% in 2017 but only moving the eight-year average to 21.7%.
Paid music subscriptions going up
Meanwhile, paid music streaming subscriptions have become the norm for many music fans, with the market recording impressive increases in subscriber numbers over the last few years.
According to Statista, in the first quarter of 2020, the number of music streaming subscribers worldwide amounted to 400 million, up from just under 305 million at the end of the first half of 2019.
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
