Spotify USA, Inc.
Spotify Faces $500+ Per User Arbitration Over Fake ‘Personalized’ Music Recommendations!
Spotify allegedly misled millions of users by promoting paid-for songs as personalized recommendations through its Discovery Mode program.
Key facts
- Claim deadline
- No deadline listed
- Potential payment
- Up to $500
- Proof listed
- No proof requirement listed
- Status
- Closed
Plain-language overview
Who may qualify?
Eligibility depends on the dates, products, locations, and other terms listed for this claim. Review any criteria below and the official terms before deciding whether it may apply to you.
- You must have subscribed to Spotify.
- You must have used Spotify’s playlist features or music recommendation features, such as algorithmically generated playlists.
- You must have relied on Spotify’s advertising and representations that its playlists and song recommendations were personalized to your listening habits and preferences.
Case overview
What this settlement is about
This case alleges that Spotify deceived its free and paid subscribers by marketing its playlists and music recommendations as personally curated for each listener, while secretly promoting certain artists and songs because those artists accepted reduced royalty payments through Spotify’s “Discovery Mode” program — a practice the lawsuit compares to “modern digital payola.” The original class action complaint was filed in November 2025 by plaintiff Genevieve Capolongo in the Southern District of New York. On April 30, 2026, Judge John G. Koeltl granted Spotify’s motion to compel arbitration and dismissed the class action allegations with prejudice, noting that the plaintiff had agreed to Spotify’s Terms of Use containing a mandatory arbitration clause. The case is now stayed pending individual arbitration through National Arbitration and Mediation. Labaton Keller Sucharow, through its Lantern platform, is currently investigating and accepting new clients for individual mass arbitration claims.
