{{Short description|American music journalist and author}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Liz Pelly | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1990}}<ref name="ElPais"/> | birth_place = | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|Music journalist|author|adjunct professor at [[New York University]]}} | alma_mater = [[Boston University]] | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = ''[[Mood Machine]]'' (2025) | relatives = Jenn Pelly (twin sister) }}
'''Liz Pelly''' is an American writer, journalist, and adjunct professor at [[New York University]].<ref name="ElPais">{{cite web|url=https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-09-20/liz-pelly-the-journalist-who-uncovered-spotifys-fake-artist-farms-in-an-hour-they-produce-dozens-of-songs.html|title=Liz Pelly, the journalist who uncovered Spotify's fake artist farms: 'In an hour they produce dozens of songs'|website=[[El País]]|first=Noelia|last=Ramírez|date=September 20, 2025|access-date=December 30, 2025}}</ref> Her book ''[[Mood Machine|Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist]]'', which critically examines the music streaming platform [[Spotify]] including the [[Controversy over fake artists on Spotify|platform's promotion of fake artists]], 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pioneerworks.org/broadcast/jenn-pelly-liz-pelly-mood-machine|title=Sister Inquiry - The Pelly twins on music, writing, and life beyond algorithms|website=[[Pioneer Works]]|date=July 16, 2025|access-date=December 30, 2025|first=Jenn|last=Pelly}}</ref>
Pelly started writing about music as a teenager for a local alt-weekly newspaper,<ref name="JacobinInt">{{cite web|url=https://jacobin.com/2025/08/spotify-music-industry-content-creators|title=Spotify Pushes Musicians to Become "Content Creators"|website=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]|first=Grisha|last=Prorokov|date=August 21, 2025|access-date=December 30, 2025}}</ref> before studying journalism at [[Boston University]].<ref name="BostonGlobe">{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/01/09/lifestyle/mood-machine-hidden-costs-spotify-music/|title=In 'Mood Machine,' BU grad Liz Pelly examines the hidden costs of Spotify's music empire|website=[[The Boston Globe]]|first=James|last=Sullivan|date=January 9, 2025|access-date=December 31, 2025}}</ref> While at university she was involved in [[college radio]], which she says connected her "with the local music community and the underground scene".<ref name="JacobinInt"/>
==Career== After graduation, Pelly worked for [[The Boston Phoenix]] for its final two years<ref name="BostonGlobe"/> where she covered "the [[Occupy movement]] and [...] local organizing efforts".<ref name="JacobinInt"/> In the mid-2010s, she lived at and was involved with running [[Silent Barn]], a collectively run community art space in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/cut-the-music-pelly|title=Cut the Music|website=[[The Baffler]]|first=Liz|last=Pelly|date=February 12, 2018|access-date=December 30, 2025}}</ref> 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]]''.<ref name="JacobinInt"/> In 2025 her first book, ''[[Mood Machine|Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist]]'', was published by [[Hodder & Stoughton]].<ref name="JacobinInt"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/431a856f-41ad-466b-af54-c14498dd1dcf|title=Mood Machine — how Spotify detached music from the makers|website=[[Financial Times]]|first=Max|last=Liu|date=February 28, 2025|access-date=December 30, 2025}}</ref> The book is a critical examination of [[Spotify]] including the platform's [[Controversy over fake artists on Spotify|promotion of fake artists]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/05/mood-machine-by-liz-pelly-review-a-savage-indictment-of-spotify|title=Mood Machine by Liz Pelly review – a savage indictment of Spotify|website=[[The Guardian]]|first=Alexis|last=Petridis|date=March 5, 2025|access-date=January 6, 2026}}</ref>
Pelly's writing has been published by ''[[The Guardian]]'', ''[[NPR]]'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', ''[[Pitchfork (magazine)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/bad-mood-rising/|title=Bad Mood Rising|website=[[LA Review of Books]]|first=Arielle|last=Gordon|date=February 3, 2025|access-date=December 30, 2025}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://lizpelly.info Official website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelly, Liz}} [[Category:American music critics]] [[Category:American women writers about music]] [[Category:American women music critics]] [[Category:Writers from New York City]] [[Category:21st-century American women writers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]] [[Category:1990 births]] [[Category:Boston University alumni]] [[Category:21st-century American women journalists]]