New Study Shows How Spotify Playlists Shape Listening Habits

A new study has found that Spotify’s curated playlists and search functionality play a crucial role in shaping user listening habits, often more than the inclusion of major label superstars. This shift underscores the growing influence of digital curation in the music industry.

A new study by Tilburg University in the Netherlands reveals significant insights into how Spotify’s platform design influences listening habits. The research, published in the INFORMS journal Marketing Science, highlights the importance of Spotify’s curated playlists and their prominent placement on the search page.

Contrary to popular belief that superstar artists dictate streaming habits, the study indicates that playlists featured on Spotify’s Search Page have a greater impact on listenership. This finding suggests a shift in how music is consumed in the digital era, with platform curation taking precedence over artist popularity.

The study was conducted by Max Pachali, an associate professor of marketing at Tilberg University, and Hannes Datta, also an associate professor of marketing at the university.

“Before our work, little was known about how strongly users respond to the drivers of playlist demand,” Datta said in a news release. “We decided to more deeply explore the cause-and-effect nature and influence of curated playlists.”

The researchers used data from Chartmetric.com to analyze 34,483 professionally curated playlists, including those from Spotify and major music labels, tracking data between October 2019 and March 2020.

Their analysis revealed that playlists featured on Spotify’s Search Page experienced roughly double the follower growth compared to those featuring tracks from major label superstars. 

“This demonstrates Spotify’s ability to steer user engagement and listening behavior through its platform design,” added Pachali. “In comparison, we find that users are about half as sensitive to the addition of popular label artists. When a major label superstar is added to a playlist, it increases daily followers by about 0.5%.”

The study found a 1% increase in followers for playlists included on the search page, illustrating the substantial influence of Spotify’s layout on user behavior. 

“These results imply that while superstar artists remain a relevant asset for major music labels, the professional curation of playlists in combination with the search function are even more powerful,” Datta added.

Historically, major music labels dominated music distribution and promotion in the offline world. This study confirms that the digital age, particularly through platforms like Spotify, has shifted this dynamic. For industry players, understanding playlist curation and the impact of platform algorithms has become increasingly critical.

“For industry players, understanding playlist curation strategies – especially the role of major label superstar content and how platform algorithms prioritize playlists on the search page – is more important than ever,” concluded Pachali.