A recent report from Harper’s Magazine highlights Spotify’s practice of incorporating “ghost artists” into its playlists. These artists produce bulk music specifically for distribution on the platform, often leading to lower royalty rates. This strategy aims to enhance Spotify’s profit margins, as the music provided through this method is claimed to be “seeded.”
The report indicates that this practice is particularly common in playlists that feature instrumental genres such as lo-fi hip-hop, jazz, ambient, and classical music. One prominent playlist mentioned is Deep Focus, which has over 4.5 million subscribers and relies on what Spotify refers to as Perfect Fit content.
Perfect Fit content was introduced in 2017, allowing music created by a small group of collaborators to be shared across numerous empty artist profiles. This system is advantageous for Spotify, as it reduces the royalties paid to individual artists, redirecting those funds to partners involved in the Perfect Fit process. Approximately 20 songwriters contribute to the music of over 500 ghost artists, generating millions of streams.
The report also raises concerns about the future relationship between listeners and artists, suggesting a potential shift where the connection might become entirely impersonal, with anonymous creators producing low-cost content for widespread consumption. Playlists such as Ambient Relaxation, Cocktail Jazz, and Bossa Nova Dinner are also noted for utilizing ghost artists, and it was reported that some Spotify editors were either sidelined or replaced for resisting this shift.
The possibility of Spotify eventually employing AI for playlist curation is another angle being considered. The FADER has reached out to Spotify for further comments on this matter.