Spotify Faces Class Action Lawsuit Alleging “Pay For Play” Discovery Mode

Spotify is involved in a new class action lawsuit that claims the company takes payments from record labels and artists for slots on Discovery Mode and coveted editorial playlists.

The details:

• Beyond the “pay for play” narrative, the claim alleges that Spotify knowingly misleads users into believing Discovery Mode is curated based on their individual tastes.

• Spotify has called these claims “nonsense.”

• Genevieve Capolongo is the named plaintiff. Her lawyers stated she hopes to accrue “millions” of Spotify users in the class.

• Spotify provides public insight into how Discovery Mode and editorial playlists are curated via the “About Recommendations” page, but the complaint says that this is insufficient.

• Capolongo’s lawyers did not provide any specific evidence to support the claim that popular editorial playlists like RapCaviar and Today’s Top Hits are also pay-for-play. They instead cited confirmations of the practice from anonymous “industry insiders.”

• To the specific legalities, the complaint alleges that Spotify violated New York state law in persuading Capolongo to subscribe based on false claims and then being enriched as a result.

What they said:

• The lawsuit: “Spotify exploits that trust by marketing itself as a platform that offers organic music recommendations — whether through its algorithmic or curated playlists — only to secretly sell those recommendations to the highest bidder.”

• Spotify: “Not only do they misrepresent what Discovery Mode is and how it works, but they are riddled with misunderstandings and inaccuracies. Discovery Mode is a feature artists can use to flag priority tracks for algorithmic consideration in limited contexts: Radio, Autoplay, and certain Mixes. It doesn’t buy plays, it doesn’t affect editorial playlists, and it’s clearly disclosed in the app and on our website.”