It is 2:15 am on a Tuesday in November and the rain is just beginning to let up on the streets of Philadelphia. With shaking hands and tired eyes, I watch the neon lights flicker above me as adrenaline from the hours before still runs through my veins. Despite the two-hour drive home and early classes the next morning, I patiently wait outside a small club to chat with the individuals who sang out of my stereo on full volume every hour of the day. Unknown at the time, this simple conversation of awkward introductions and nervous laughter led to a public relations position at a prosperous record label that sent me across the East Coast throughout my high school years. It was this eye-opening opportunity that exemplified the impact that simply stumbling upon a band one late night mindlessly scrolling through my phone. If it was not for Spotify’s simplistic “Discover” page that featured independent artists like Twenty One Pilots, I would have never been standing outside that rainy Tuesday night and met the band that created the opportunity to work with countless extraordinary artists through the Fueled by Ramen record label.

From that night in 2012, it became clear the unlimited possibilities that came along with downloading the app. Although requiring a paid subscription to listen ad-free and restriction-free, Spotify provides an infinite library of songs without the overwhelming pressure to spend money and purchase the music through ITunes or Amazon music. Throughout the years, various music apps developed into money-hungry companies more concerned about ads for an insurance company than the music itself. However, Spotify only continues to expand its capabilities and improve quality without increasing membership prices. Today, the software creates a new playlist each week impressively tailored to every individual user with new music for the user to discover. This “Discover Weekly” playlist not only highlights the intricacy in its internal programming but also shows me that this app knows me greater than most acquaintances in my social life. Spotify continuously builds upon its user’s interaction rather than stagnating its functions and appeal; thus, it creates an infinite atmosphere of worldly music discovery.

Since its creation, the Internet continuously fosters a place of community and interactivity. Among such a place are platforms that were created to encourage and inspire creativity beyond the average day-to-day interactions. Particularly, Spotify is a connected platform for any popular or up-and-coming artist to share music that listeners throughout the world can access with a tap of the finger. Billboard magazine sums the app as “the place fans discover music as well as consume it.” Through both the app and desktop domain, I discovered over 2,000 new artists that propelled my fascination for music even further. After downloading the app, I became enveloped in a digital abyss where there were no limitations to the knowledge I could obtain. Spotify allowed me to experience hundreds of shows and countless cities; I’ve seen more of the country through concert tickets and song lyrics than possible before. The app has effortlessly become an essential part of my daily routine; it is now a habitual nature of mine to scroll through the years of saved music while concurrently stumbling upon hidden songs from favorite artists. Everyday is filled with new melodies that seem to shape the world around me.

Today, the artist I met on that rainy November night continued on to become one of the most successful bands to circulate popular media. Being a part of the PR network that propelled Twenty One Pilots from one thousand followers to one million, from a small-town band to winning Grammy awards, showed me not only the value of persistence and dedication but the true power of the internet. After downloading Spotify, I taught myself the real value of music production and discovered the corruption of the popular music industry. It has been six years since I last listened to the monotonous banality of local radio stations, and I would encourage everyone I meet to do the same.

Submitted by Naomi Green flickr photo by WELSTech shared into the public domain using Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0)