A class action lawsuit accuses Spotify of engaging in “payola” to allow record labels to secretly promote their artists in the streaming service’s Discovery Mode.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court and first obtained by All Hip Hop , alleges that Spotify employs a “modern form of payola” where they sell visibility on the Discovery Mode playlists via undisclosed promotional deals, instead of providing paid users with a playlist catered toward their actual music interests.

The 39-page complaint, filed by Spotify subscriber Genevieve Capolongo and other users, argues that Spotify “charges listeners for the privilege of being deceived,” with Discovery Mode creating a “false impression of neutral, personalized recommendations when financial incentives are quietly dr

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