Liz Pelly

About the author

Liz Pelly is an American writer, journalist, and adjunct professor at New York University whose work takes a critical eye to the music industry's digital transformation. Her 2025 book, Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, published by Hodder & Stoughton, examines the streaming giant Spotify in depth — including its promotion of fake artists — probing the hidden costs behind algorithmically curated listening and the platform's outsized influence on how music is consumed.