[aestra]

What's the point of silent tracks? The same effect can be accomplished by just turning the volume down all the way. They could encourage people to play their real tracks without volume or with speakers unplugged without making it so obvious they are trying to game the system.

[pbw]

The purpose of the silent tracks is to generate publicity. This is not a genuine attempt to conduct a scam. It also makes it convenient if spotify docks them for the bogus plays. Finally this way they can see if their actual tracks are gaining popularity, which is the whole goal.

[dTal]

I imagine it saves bandwidth.