The Shit List / Music / Spotify · full spec sheet · jump to the Wall ↓
Severity
51 / 100
ACUTEpeak 52ranked #14 of 42people’s rank #10 · preview
Case 014 · Music · Admitted 2017
The Enshittification of Spotify
The Enshittification of SpotifySpotify combined repeated subscription price increases with changes to its royalty system that reduced payouts to smaller artists and songwriters, while filling owned playlists with low-cost commissioned music. It also tested paywalling existing features and discontinued hardware it had sold, rendering the devices inoperable.
First symptom
Jul 2017
Symptoms on file
9
Categories
3
Prognosis
Acute
4 quality · 3 pricing · 2 features
Alternatives
The Paper Trail
| Date | Category | Symptom · rating · source |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-07 | quality | Pseudonymous 'fake artists' fill Spotify playlistsMusic Business Worldwide identified about 50 pseudonymous 'fake artists' with hundreds of millions of streams placed on Spotify's own mood playlists such as Peaceful Piano and Sleep. Spotify denied creating the artists.↳ NPR |
| 2023-07 | pricing | First U.S. Premium price increaseSpotify raised the price of its U.S. individual Premium plan from $9.99 to $10.99 per month, the first increase to the flagship plan since launch, alongside hikes to Duo, Family, and Student plans in about 50 markets.↳ Variety |
| 2023-09 | features | Spotify tests putting lyrics behind Premium paywallSpotify confirmed it was testing restricting in-app song lyrics, previously available to all users, to Premium subscribers, showing free users a prompt to upgrade.↳ Engadget |
| 2023-11 | quality | Tracks under 1,000 streams stop earning royaltiesSpotify announced a royalty system change under which, starting in early 2024, tracks with fewer than 1,000 streams in the prior 12 months would no longer generate recorded-music royalties, with that revenue redistributed to more-streamed tracks.↳ Spotify for Artists |
| 2024-03 | quality | Premium reclassified as bundle, cutting songwriter royaltiesBy adding audiobook access to Premium, Spotify reclassified its U.S. subscriptions as bundles, qualifying for a lower mechanical royalty rate paid to songwriters and publishers, estimated to reduce payouts by roughly $150 million in the first year.↳ Variety |
| 2024-05 | features | Car Thing devices to be bricked; lawsuit followsSpotify announced its discontinued Car Thing dashboard device would stop functioning entirely on December 9, 2024, initially telling owners to dispose of the hardware without refunds. After backlash and a class-action lawsuit, Spotify began offering refunds.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2024-06 | pricing | Second U.S. price increase in a yearSpotify raised U.S. prices again, with the individual Premium plan going from $10.99 to $11.99 per month, less than a year after its first-ever increase, with Duo and Family plans also rising.↳ CNBC |
| 2025-01 | quality | Investigation details 'Perfect Fit Content' ghost-artist programA Harper's Magazine investigation by Liz Pelly reported that Spotify's internal 'Perfect Fit Content' program stocked hundreds of its mood playlists with cheap commissioned music attributed to pseudonymous artists to reduce royalty costs.↳ Harper's Magazine |
| 2026-01 | pricing | Spotify raises U.S. Premium price againSpotify increased the price of its U.S. Premium individual subscription again, its third U.S. price hike since mid-2023.↳ CNBC |
The Wall
- No complaints on file yet. Be the first to vent.
<a href="https://enshittification.xyz/spotify"><img src="https://enshittification.xyz/badge/spotify.svg" alt="Spotify on the Enshittification Index"></a>The Enshittification Index · 42 case files · no source, no entry · updated Jun 2026
↑ Return toThe Shit List