What is How We Listen?
How We Listen is a music newsletter focused on helping people recapture the joy of music discovery in the age of algorithms & nostalgia, via the experiences of people who love music more than most other things.
Nostalgia is great. The algorithm is great. Fight them.
Once every two weeks - delivered straight to your inbox - together with a few recommendations of the best music-related reads and news of the week, and suggestions from both myself and our guest to hopefully put you onto something you might have not been aware of yet.
Subscribe for free to get the newsletter in your inbox every two weeks! All past issues are available to read here.
You can find us on Instagram as well.
But why does it exist? Why should I subscribe?
We were teenagers once - excited by discovery, thrilled by novelty. For those of us who were in love with music in those formative years, this translated into a curiosity to uncover new gems, the earworms we welcomed that would pervade our heads for months to come.
Years pass, responsibilities change, we no longer have the time we used to have. Our taste is said to mature in our early 30s, and we stop seeking out new artists to love. Nostalgia prevails. It’s only natural, we look back at times we saw as more carefree, and music - having the power that it has - is directly connected to those wistful memories. When you hear someone in the music industry say that catalogue is where the money is - they’re not lying. In 2024, 73.3% of sales in the US came from music that was older than 18 months. The number is growing year on year.
Technology has also changed, and it continues changing in both inspiring and worrying ways. A 2024 report by startup Your Music Marketing estimates that 18.7% of Spotify streams they analyzed come from algorithmic sources (personalised playlists such as Daily Mix, Discover Weekly, On Repeat, its radio feature, etc.) Streaming platforms are also being flooded by AI music: most of it is slop that goes relatively unnoticed, others get millions of plays and cause outrage.
Outside of streaming services themselves, algorithm-led platforms - TikTok being the first to come to mind - have become ground zero for literally almost that anything catches on. In 2024, 84% of tracks that charted in the Billboard Global 200 chart had been viral on the platform before. Eighty-four percent! Our taste is being shaped by soundbites that are often just an accompanying background for silly 15-second videos.
None of the above is intrinsically wrong. I am on TikTok, like everyone else. I pay to see the bands that shaped my music taste at 13. You can make the case for attending a festival where your favorite bands from twenty years ago are playing reunion sets, and loving it. TikTok’s algorithm is impressive, nobody will fault you for finding your new favorite artist in there. I would raise an eyebrow but accept it if a friend claimed they have found an album via Spotify radio, enjoyed it in the background while they studied, and realised later that it was produced by AI.
This newsletter exists because I have felt this myself - I was the teenager who’d pride himself on being the one who knew the obscure punk band who’d hopefully one day play Milan, Italy in front of myself and 15 other people. Who decided at 16 that the only industry for them was music and who did just that, only to realise a few years in that all of the above is true: you change, things around you change, nostalgia creeps in, you think the music that will define the years to come will find its way to you via a Reel, or via Autoplay on this streaming platform or the other. Eventually, I realised that I was missing out on something I loved so much, and that the smallest bit of effort and changing habits could give me so much. There is so much more out there to discover.
How We Listen exists to talk to interesting people about who they are, their connection to music, their listening habits, how they find new things to listen to, what made them click in their teenage years and how that has changed as time has gone by. Among other things. Artists, journalists, label people, comedians, directors… all sorts of people.
We all have our discovery methods, some are more active than others, some value efficiency. No method is inherently better or worse than another. Some let their friends guide them, some read this or that website’s yearly Top 10, others fall in love with a chorus on TikTok.
How We Listen wants to see what these methods are, learn from them, and hopefully inspire others to see how varied music discovery can be - and to become more intentional.
Where to reach out?
For any music recommendations, culture suggestions, articles to check out, or whatever else - please do email me at howwelisten.newsletter@gmail.com.
Publicist friends - feel free to add the email above to your mailing lists.
Who the hell thought this was a good idea?
How We Listen is a one-man-band run by me, Sam Batista. I’m based in London, come from Italy & the Dominican Republic, listen to a bit too much music and go to a few too many shows. Wouldn’t change it for the world.
Since 2025, I’ve been a Marketing Manager for the UK at Concord Label Group. Before that, I worked at Pan-European PR, radio & marketing company KINDA for nearly 8 years. I have been and still am extremely lucky to work with incredible artists (and amazing people). Wouldn’t change that for the world either.
If you so desire, you can find me on Instagram. Oh and I guess LinkedIn is a thing too.
