Liz Pelly
Liz Pelly | |
|---|---|
 Pelly in 2024 | |
| Born | 1990[1] |
| Alma mater | Boston University |
| Occupations |
|
| Notable work | Mood Machine (2025) |
| Relatives | Jenn Pelly (twin sister) |
Liz Pelly is an American writer, journalist, and adjunct professor at New York University.[1] Her book Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, which examines the music streaming platform Spotify, was published in 2025 by Hodder & Stoughton.
Early life and education
Pelly grew up on Long Island. She has a twin sister named Jenn, who is also a music journalist and writer. They both wrote about music for their high school newspaper.[2]
Pelly started writing about music as a teenager for a local alt-weekly newspaper,[3] before studying journalism at Boston University.[4] While at university she was involved in college radio, which she says connected her "with the local music community and the underground scene".[3]
Career
After graduation, Pelly worked for The Boston Phoenix for its final two years[4] where she covered "the Occupy movement and [...] local organizing efforts".[3] In the mid-2010s, she lived at and was involved with running Silent Barn, a collectively run community art space in Brooklyn.[5] Whilst living there she began researching Spotify, and started writing essays about streaming for the blog of a music nonprofit called CASH Music and then for The Baffler.[3] In 2025 her first book, Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, was published by Hodder & Stoughton.[3][6] The book is a critical examination of Spotify including the platform's promotion of fake artists.[7]
Pelly's writing has been published by The Guardian, NPR, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, amongst others. She has appeared on radio shows and podcasts such as The New York Times Popcast, NPR's Morning Edition. She teaches in the recorded music program at New York University.[8]
References
- ^ a b Ramírez, Noelia (20 September 2025). "Liz Pelly, the journalist who uncovered Spotify's fake artist farms: 'In an hour they produce dozens of songs'". El País. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (16 July 2025). "Sister Inquiry - The Pelly twins on music, writing, and life beyond algorithms". Pioneer Works. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Prorokov, Grisha (21 August 2025). "Spotify Pushes Musicians to Become "Content Creators"". Jacobin. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ a b Sullivan, James (9 January 2025). "In 'Mood Machine,' BU grad Liz Pelly examines the hidden costs of Spotify's music empire". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ Pelly, Liz (12 February 2018). "Cut the Music". The Baffler. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ Liu, Max (28 February 2025). "Mood Machine — how Spotify detached music from the makers". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (5 March 2025). "Mood Machine by Liz Pelly review – a savage indictment of Spotify". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ Gordon, Arielle (3 February 2025). "Bad Mood Rising". LA Review of Books. Retrieved 30 December 2025.