Tucked back into Somerville’s Davis Square sits The Echo Nest, the company responsible for supplying popular music discovery platforms Spotify and Rdio with their enormous libraries of songs.
Given the company’s slant, it should go without saying that the culture within the Nest is one that won’t shy away from too-loud tunes. Along with its headquarters just outside of Boston proper’s bounds (the company’s tech was created by a pair of MIT PhDs, after all), The Echo Nest also keeps space in San Francisco. To unite the offices on either coast, the company’s engineers well, engineered, a live-streaming Spotify station that’s contributed to in real-time by employees to create an ever-changing soundtrack. Really dig [or don’t like] someone’s song suggestion? Team members can also comment on the tracks as they play, allowing people to compliment [or chirp] their coworkers’ preferences.
Tired from crafting the taste-making software that millions of music lovers’ from around the world listen to every day? Kick up your feet on the office’s shaggy, multi-colored couch that looks straight from the seventies and grab yourself a cappuccino on The Echo Nest. The kitchen comes fully stocked with an espresso machine – and a makeshift bar, come Friday afternoons.
The company has been known to throw a rager or two in the past, moving out all the furniture from its Somerville space to bring in bands from all genres, like The Bad Rabbits, Biz Markie and Javelin, to perform. Not to mention The Echo Nest’s annual holiday party, when the company rents out Johnnie D’s for an open mic night, brought to you by company bands. Oh, and employees receive up to $50 in compensation for concert tickets when they attend a show with a fellow Echo Nester. We guess musical birds of a feather fly together.
Learn more about how The Echo Nest takes pride in its people in our profile on the company.
