Yeah it's just playlists and network effects, mostly.
There's a Spotify playlist for everything, young people regularly share Spotify playlists each other, and for many: the hardest part about switching to another service is losing access to those playlists.
The "official" playlists provide two other functions. One is to initially amplify artists. Record labels can buy slots on these playlists, just like they used to buy airtime on the FM radio stations of yesteryear.
The second is that Spotify can use its own filler muzak on its playlists to keep licensing costs down. E.g. they pay a pianist to play generic "Christmas piano music," make up an artist name, and put a bunch of those songs on its official holiday playlists.
There's a Spotify playlist for everything, young people regularly share Spotify playlists each other, and for many: the hardest part about switching to another service is losing access to those playlists.
The "official" playlists provide two other functions. One is to initially amplify artists. Record labels can buy slots on these playlists, just like they used to buy airtime on the FM radio stations of yesteryear.
The second is that Spotify can use its own filler muzak on its playlists to keep licensing costs down. E.g. they pay a pianist to play generic "Christmas piano music," make up an artist name, and put a bunch of those songs on its official holiday playlists.