Because nothing says, “Fuck yeah, metal!” like meticulously curated data analytics, Spotify reported to shareholders this week that rock mainstays Metallica have apparently been using the service’s info to help plan its tours. According to the company’s CEO, Daniel Ek, the once-internet-hostile band has been using data from the service’s streaming info to figure out which of its songs are most popular in different markets, and then tailoring their sets to give the people what they want. (Which, we have to assume, means “Enter Sandman” on endless repeat.)
And while this suggests some pretty fun collective prank opportunities—if everyone in Madison, Wisconsin could start streaming the entirety of Lulu on their accounts, from now until the band’s appearance there in September, it would do our old hearts a world of good—it also suggests one more weird way the world of streaming and Big Data have impacted the music business. That being said, Lars Ulrich has been a famous set-list tweaker for years—swapping songs in and out based on radio play and past performances at different venues—so it’s really just an online evolution of the band’s typically obsessive practices. (Please also consider this your periodic reminder that a) Metallica has now been on its old nemesis, Napster, for years now, and b) Napster is a thing that still exists.)