I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time listening to Beats 1 Radio. It is my favourite chapter of Apple’s adventure into music. In this short time I’ve discovered a ton of new music and connected with old classics due to it. I think it nails really well how curation should be done. Specially at a time when music is becoming a commodity as our streaming services’ libraries grow.

A couple of days ago I was listening to Ebro’s show and it was Hip-Hop’s birthday. So, the host started playing some older songs and explaining their connection with the history of Hip-Hop. Later that day, I heard the same songs again, but this time I could only hear the set list (and not the full show with the host’s remarks) which resulted in a totally different experience than what I had earlier. A whole layer of knowledge and affection for the music was now missing.

Curation is often misunderstood as just creating a set of lists but I think curation is mostly about something else. Curation is about sharing why something is relevant, how does it fit in the general landscape and telling it in a compelling way. The most important part of curating is this act of storytelling. These stories deeply influence how we experience things not just what we experience.

We need more curation!