Spotify sued for suggesting ‘wrong’ music to listeners to make more money

Spotify is being sued by listeners over their Discovery Mode, with them claiming that the music streaming service never took their listening habits into account. 

There are plenty of different ways to use Spotify on a daily basis. Some users just create playlists of songs that they know and love, others stick to podcasts and audiobooks, and some use it as a radio replacement with suggestions of songs that they may not normally listen to. 

On the latter point of that, Spotify pushes out daily playlists for subscribers based on their listening habits. They also have the Discovery Mode feature for artists, which allows them to find listeners who may not have listened to their music before, but is similar to what they like. 

However, Discovery Mode is now at the centre of a new class action lawsuit, after one listener claimed that their listening habits had been totally ignored. 

Spotify’s Discovery Mode embroiled in lawsuit

The action, which comes from Genevieve Capolongo, was filed on November 5 in New York, accusing Spotify of having “pay-for-play” tools that mislead users. 

Capolongo claims that she “kept hearing the same major-label tracks” that “bore little resemblance to her listening habits.” Additionally, they claim Spotify “charges listeners for the privilege of being deceived,” with Discovery Mode creating a “false impression of neutral, personalized recommendations when financial incentives are quietly driving the algorithm.”

“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,” the lawsuit says, as per Billboard’s report. 

The streaming service claims that the lawsuit “misrepresents” what Discovery Mode stands for, calling it “nonsense.”

“Not only do they misrepresent what Discovery Mode is and how it works, but they are riddled with misunderstandings and inaccuracies,” they told Billboard. 

“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.”