[micheljansen]

I don't have evidence for this, but my working theory is that there is too much money to be made in promoting certain artists / songs for music recommender systems to remain objective. If supermarkets auction off premium shelf space to the highest bidder, what's stopping Spotify, Tidal, Apple etc. from doing the same? Want to create a new pop star? Hand over the cash and we'll put it in millions of people's "Discover" playlist.

[herbst]

These popular playlists are often already owned by the music corps. And I am sure there is a price tag for those that Spotify manages.

Next to that there is also the shadow fact that there are millions of dollars and more in fake plays, subscribers , ... SMM panels are getting big because the music industry doesn't allow for anything less than instant fame.