The Music Playlist Dilemma
If you are sensitive and thorough in the way you listen to music, and if you are the type of person who knows that music is not background-setting but a whole and integral experience on its own, you definitely went through it.
One day you get this enthusiastic feeling about grouping together a number of songs that make you feel in a particular way. Impulsed by that emotion, you go ahead an hit the “+” button on your library and start filling that new playlist with one song after another.
However, a moment comes in which you stand in front of certain decision:
“Nice song. In fact, it reminds me of one other. That enter the playlist too, why not?”
Proud of the discovery, you add it. However, the process goes on repeat: without even noticing it, maybe a whole discography has been inserted offhand. Somehow, you get the distant feeling of disorder and confusion, as if things had gone out of control.
Indeed, they went:
“Hmm, this doesn’t look that much to the playlist I had in mind.”
A bit overwhelmed, you drop out of it for a day or two; some time afterwards you come back to hit the random play button over your creation. The first song goes along, and you remember it:
“Ha! I remember that one. Cool.”
That might have been an acceptable starting point. However, the second song in the playlist starts to play. This one clearly does not blend in any way at all with the first one you’ve listened:
“Oh, I don’t know what this song is doing over here. Nevermind, I’ll leave it playing.”
You don’t.
You hit next at mid-song.
To your surprise (or not), the following track doesn’t have nothing to do with the previous two neither! You get an uncomfortable reaction, somewhat frustrated:
“Agh, what was I thinking about when doing this?”
“Why did I created it at first anyway?”
Yes, it happened to all of us. In fact, it’s the norm: we build up music playlists that fail their objective of usability. We design them, we don’t use them.
But, why? Which part is failing in the process from idea generation to the real experience? Wasn’t that belief of grouping special songs at least coherent in our minds when we first thought of it? Wasn’t that enthusiastic feeling meaningful enough?
Well, they both were. The only deficiency is in our approach to transfer its concept, intention and meaning into practice. Ultimately, music playlist design is all about user experience: our own user experience.
Want to know how to solve the playlist dilemma? It’s coming soon.
