Why Does Spotify Keep Playing the Same Songs?

For months, pop music fans have been puzzled by Spotify's tendency to repeatedly play the same songs, such as Chappell Roan's Good Luck, Babe!, Sabrina Carpenter's Espresso, or Billie Eilish's Birds of a Feather, in their autoplay queues regardless of their previous music choices. Social media posts frequently go viral questioning why these specific tracks keep appearing, even after listening to vastly different genres. For example, one user noted that Carpenter's Please Please Please followed the distinctly different Get It Sexy by St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red, while another observed Espresso frequently playing after listening to "sad music and songwriter types."

This trend has led some fans to speculate wildly, even suggesting outlandish ideas like a "mass autoplay feature" activated by certain artists—a feature that doesn't actually exist. Some have accused artists like Roan of being "industry plants," a term often used to discredit musicians who quickly gain popularity. Others have revived the term "payola," speculating that labels might be paying to have their artists' songs prioritized in Spotify's algorithm.

There's a notable difference between what feels popular and what is statistically popular, which adds to the confusion among fans. For example, despite extensive media coverage, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is only at No. 16 on the UK’s Official Charts Company's list of top-selling albums for 2024, lagging behind releases from Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and multiple albums from Taylor Swift. Source

Adding to the controversy is Spotify's "discovery mode," a feature launched in 2020 that allows artists to give up a portion of their royalties in exchange for increased visibility in algorithm-driven features like autoplay, radio, and mixes. While not traditional payola, this feature does feel similar to users, sparking concerns about the fairness and transparency of music discovery on the platform.

Despite Spotify's claims that discovery mode leads to significant increases in user engagement, the actual financial benefits for artists remain unclear. The music industry has not been forthcoming about this feature, leading to fan concerns that the platform may be manipulating their listening experience. There's also fear within the industry that criticizing Spotify could result in reduced support, despite no concrete evidence of such repercussions.