Spotify letting labels pay for cool sponsored songs they just really want to share with you
Sponsored content: Everyone loves it! Combining the stuff you enjoy with the pleasure of intimately engaging with brands, sponsored content is like having a cool older brother who hips you to stuff you might never have heard of otherwise, while also suggesting that you buy things from him. It’s a fruitful, giving relationship that’s not technically illegal, and now it’s come to Spotify in the form of sponsored songs—giving free users of the streaming service the incredible music they really need to hear, curated just for them by the people who own it.
As reported by TechCrunch, Spotify has already begun testing putting sponsored songs in free users’ playlists, drawing from the service’s algorithms to match those songs to a listener’s musical tastes. With no visual identifier that they’re sponsored, and just a quick audio intro that says, “Sponsored song,” these songs slot near-seamlessly alongside the music you already like—something labels hope will allow them to become your new favorites, without being colored by any prejudice that comes from knowing they were paid for. It’s the kind of thoughtful gesture typical of sponsored content, though unfortunately, it means you won’t know whom you should send a note of gratitude. Still, buying the artist’s merchandise is really thanks enough.