“Music Is Just Right There on Social Media!”: Discovering, Exploring, and Incorporating Songs Across Platforms

Abstract

This article examines the role of social media in music consumption, extending its scope beyond the circulation of visual content. Based on interviews with and follow-up reports from 25 Costa Ricans, we investigate 3 specific ways of relating to music across platforms: the discovery of affectively resonant songs on social media, the exploration of these songs through interconnections across platforms, and the continuous integration of this music into the temporal and spatial flows of everyday life. The article analyzes the relationship between social media platforms and music streaming services, offering a nuanced discussion of their intricate but underexamined interplay. We argue that music discovery, exploration, and incorporation reveal 3 dynamics at the core of people’s interactions with platforms: the reflexive relationship with algorithms as an integral aspect of people’s lives, the alignment of affordances with established cultural consumption patterns, and the intricate interconnections across diverse apps and devices.