Music Mentors of the Streaming Era: from Algorithms to Influential Figures

The streaming era has cast aside some of the common influential figures in the music field, somewhat replaced by the algorithms behind music apps. This study describes the music mentors of the era—influential figures recommending new content—and their relationship to their teenage music consumer mentees. Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with teenagers (ages 14–18), exploring their daily use of music, their socializing, the forming and presenting of their identity through music, and their search for new content using algorithmic and social networks. Results suggest that peers act as prominent music mentors for their group members, through exposure to new content, co-listening, sending links via social media, and discussing music by creating interpretive communities. Within families, fathers were pointed to as the most meaningful mentors, highly in charge of their offspring’s musical taste. Though algorithms are frequently used as mentors, guiding the users with their recommendations, most teenagers prefer not relying solely on them, turning to their social circles for guidance. Further research is needed to expand understandings of the social effects of music consumption, with a particular focus on exploring different age groups, cultural, and socio-economic properties.