Spotify's New Tool Will Prove You Liked Bands Before They Were Cool

If you want to prove once and for all that you were hitting repeat on Jamie xx before he was big, you should welcome Spotify's new trend-tastic tool: the "Found Them First" web app, where you can find out (and advertise) which artists you listened to, before they were big.

The new tool works by mining your listening history and showing you tracks where you were in the first 1-15 percent of listeners, highlighting "breakout" artists, who've aggregated at least 20 million streams, and experienced a growth rate of 2,000 percent between January 2013 and June 2015.

The time range may limit your bragging scope, but it also means you can continue saying you "helped discover" Kendrick Lamar. And to rule out random plays from that one time your cousin DJ'd your birthday, Spotify will only define you as an "early listener" if you've streamed the artist at least five times in a month.

Whatever your count, the tool will create a "Find Them Next" album full of fresh artists that fit your listening preferences, so you get a chance at claiming music snob rights at the next rooftop party.

On a test run, the web app told me I had "discovered" 12 artists including Jamie xx, What So Not, and ODESZA, but Jamie xx was already headlining music festivals by 2013, and I saw ODESZA at a major NYC venue a few months later, so the algorithm might need some tweaking. Or, actually, on second thought, I probably did launch their careers. Please forward all concert tickets to Michelle No at Thrillist Media Group.


Michelle No is an editorial assistant at Supercompressor and is listening to the new Made In Heights album. She tooootally discovered them. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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