Blog1 min read
On not adding genre tags
The room name is the only categorisation. The looser frame buys the curator real freedom and costs some discoverability.
The playlists on this site don't have genre tags. The descriptions don't say 'ambient,' 'modern classical,' or 'lo-fi hip hop.' The room name is the only categorisation. This is a small choice that pays back in two specific ways.
The first is that the listener doesn't pre-filter the music. A genre tag tells them what to expect, and if their idea of 'ambient' is different from mine, the playlist disappoints in a particular way. A room name doesn't trigger the same comparison. 'Music for sleep' is a brief, not a category.
The second is that the playlist can quietly include music from outside its expected genre without breaking trust. The sleep playlist has folk songs on it. The reading playlist has a piece of post-rock. None of those would belong on a playlist labelled 'ambient music for sleep'; all of them belong on a playlist labelled 'music for sleep'. The slightly looser frame buys the curator real freedom.
The cost is discoverability. People search streaming services for genres, not rooms. The site doesn't show up in those searches. That's a real trade-off, and one I'm willing to make. The listeners who find the rooms tend to be more patient with what's inside them, because they came looking for a use, not a sound.