The author is trying to frame a cultural 'music discovery' problem as a Spotify UX problem. I don't think Spotify's netflixified playlists are a big issue. In

The author is trying to frame a cultural 'music discovery' problem as a Spotify UX problem. I don't think Spotify's netflixified playlists are a big issue. In fact, I think they are decently curated. The 'music discovery' problem stems from the centralization of music radio (in the late 2000s), causing a selected handful of superstars to reign supreme protected by the centralized barriers to entry. Spotify has created the inverse problem. Instead of a handful of superstars (other than the ones grandfathered in before streaming became commonplace), the US Top 50 chart (over a given 10 week time period)is fragmented with 100% interchangeable rap songs with DIY production chops. 'Interchangable' is the key word here- none of these artists are able to rise to headliner status and major music festivals are in jeopardy because they are running out of legacy headliners to keep them afloat. TLDR: Centralized radio enabled labels to conspire to make superstars. Spotify (not intentionally) prevents artists from becoming superstars. There are exceptions, of course, but the revenue numbers from previous generations dwarf those of, say, Fetty Wap.