[meristem]

I do not work for Spotify. The following are a bunch of educated guesses based on how 'old standard concepts' drift towards 'new concepts'.

1. They test their UI with their target users (assumes they have a handle on who pays $$$ for the service besides ad revenue)

2. People who just want functionality are not a high percentage of users or use cases

3. A good number of users/use cases value visual feedback via simple, larger imagery over condensed information displays (condensed displays are also harder to design well)

4. There are halo and competitive effects, and all apps of a certain class end up looking alike and imitating each other's visual languages and decisions, with design gradually drifting towards a new set of rules that become 'standard'.