Liz Pelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990 [1] |
| Alma mater | Boston University |
| Occupations |
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| 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.
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]
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]