A detailed new report from Harper’s Magazine reveals that Spotify is adding what it calls “ghost artists” to some of its massive playlists, a small group of musicians who create bulk music for distribution across the platform. It claims to be seeded. According to a report by writer Liz Perry, music provided this way will have lower royalty rates, which will help streaming companies improve their profit margins.
Reports suggest that the practice is most prevalent in instrumental-heavy playlists that focus on genres such as lo-fi hip-hop, jazz, ambient, and classical. Playlist Deep Focus, which has more than 4.5 million subscribers, is among those name-checked in the article for relying on what is internally known as Perfect Fit content.
PFC was first introduced in 2017, with partners creating music that was shared across hundreds of artist profiles, many of which were empty. The appeal is that royalties are paid less to real artists and are instead paid to PFC partners. Approximately 20 songwriters are involved in the work of more than 500 “artists,” and the number of streams is said to be in the millions.
As Perry writes, PFC argues that “as streaming services relegate music further to the background and standardize anonymous, low-cost playlist fillers, the relationship between listener and artist may be severed entirely. It presents an image of the future.”
Other popular playlists mentioned in the report include Ambient Relaxation, Deep Focus, Cocktail Jazz, and Bossa Nova Dinner. It is also said that Spotify editors and curators who resisted PFC content were sidelined or replaced by those who were more proactive about including ghost artists on their playlists. The possibility of Spotify using AI to curate playlists in the future has also been mentioned.
The FADER has reached out to Spotify for comment.
