Comment by gatefolded

Liz Pelly's book covers this in depth. It's mostly in Spotify's mood and activity playlists ('Chill Vibes', 'Deep Focus', 'Peaceful Piano'). Spotify realized they could save on royalties by paying producers a flat fee to bang out dozens of tracks under fake artist names. "Ghost artists" with no online presence, no merch, no tours, just millions of streams. Pelly calls it 'leanback listening' - music designed to fill silence rather than be actively chosen. If you mainly listen to specific artists you seek out, you'd never encounter it.