Spotify’s promise has always been simple: the world’s music, personalized for you. But a new class action filed this week in Manhattan claims that promise might come with a hidden price tag.
According to the lawsuit, Spotify’s Discovery Mode — a feature designed to help artists get their music heard — is allegedly a “modern form of payola,” the same word used for under-the-table radio bribes in the mid-20th century. The accusation? That Spotify secretly sells visibility under the guise of algorithmic discovery.
How Discovery Mode Works — and Why It’s Causing Trouble
On paper, Discovery Mode sounds harmless, even helpful. As Spotify describes it, “artists and labels identify priority songs, and our system factors this signal into personalized recommendations.” It’s pitched as a way for artists to flag their favorite tracks so the algorithm gives them a gentle nudge into the right listeners’ ears.
But critics — and now plaintiffs — say there’s a darker side. The class action argues that Spotify’s system quietly trades listener trust for profit, turning what’s supposed to be organic curation into a paid spotlight.
Filed by a user named Genevieve Capolongo, the complaint suggests that playlist placements under Discovery Mode can cost anywhere from $2,000 for small playlists to $10,000 for bigger ones. The result, they claim, is a distorted algorithm — one that doesn’t actually recommend what you might love, but what someone paid to push.
In other words, the digital version of slipping a radio DJ an envelope stuffed with cash.
“Modern Payola” or Smart Promotion?
The lawsuit describes Spotify’s model as “leveraging user trust” while disguising financial incentives behind its recommendation system. It cites that listeners “have the false impression they’re receiving neutral, personalized suggestions, when the algorithm is secretly guided by undisclosed commercial deals.”
To the casual user, a Discovery Mode track might look like any other suggestion — part of a playlist, an autoplay sequence, or a “Made for You” mix. But behind the scenes, that visibility could be financially engineered.
Spotify, of course, has fired back hard. A company spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter the lawsuit is “nonsense,” emphasizing that Discovery Mode “does not sell streams” or affect editorial playlists. It simply lets artists tag songs for limited algorithmic consideration in places like Radio, Autoplay, and select Mix contexts.
“It’s all clearly disclosed,” Spotify insists. “There’s no deception, no pay-for-play.”
Still, that explanation hasn’t quieted the noise — or the growing skepticism toward the world’s biggest streaming platform.
A Pattern of Scrutiny
This isn’t Spotify’s first time in the legal spotlight. Just days before the Discovery Mode complaint, rapper RBX (a cousin of Snoop Dogg and a longtime figure in West Coast hip-hop) launched another class action, accusing the company of turning a blind eye to large-scale streaming fraud.
According to that suit, Spotify allegedly ignored “billions of fake streams” benefiting major artists like Drake, warping the platform’s metrics and payout structures. While that claim hasn’t been proven, it highlights a recurring narrative: that the line between promotion and manipulation in the streaming economy is getting dangerously thin.
And with Discovery Mode, the conversation now hits a nerve at the core of Spotify’s identity — its algorithm.
The Algorithm Problem
Spotify’s algorithm isn’t just a tool; it’s the cultural gatekeeper of a generation. The playlists it curates — Discover Weekly, Release Radar, Daily Mix — shape careers and tastes alike. But if that algorithm starts taking cues from financial deals instead of listener behavior, the entire idea of “discovery” falls apart.
Artists, especially independents, are divided. Some see Discovery Mode as a chance to get noticed without massive label backing. Others call it “streaming’s version of pay-to-play,” locking visibility behind a digital paywall.
As one indie producer wrote on X: “If you’re broke, you stay invisible. Spotify used to be about discovery — now it’s about budgets.”
Why It Matters
The Discovery Mode lawsuit could become a defining moment for transparency in the streaming industry. It asks a fundamental question: When an algorithm is monetized, can it still be trusted?
For Spotify, the answer could shape not only its reputation but the future of digital music recommendation itself. If the court agrees that Discovery Mode blurs ethical lines, it may force broader reforms in how platforms label and disclose paid placements.
Because if every “personalized” playlist hides a financial deal, maybe the music we think we’re choosing isn’t really ours at all.
FAQ Section
Q1: What is Spotify Discovery Mode?
It’s a feature that lets artists flag specific songs for algorithmic promotion across Spotify’s personalized listening features, like Radio and Autoplay.
Q2: Why is Discovery Mode controversial?
A new class action claims it functions as “modern payola,” selling exposure instead of delivering organic recommendations to users.
Q3: What does Spotify say about the lawsuit?
Spotify denies all accusations, stating Discovery Mode doesn’t sell streams or influence editorial playlists, and is clearly disclosed in the app.