The Mere-Exposure Effect is a phenomenon stating that the more you are exposed to something, the more you develop an affinity for it. Lately, I’ve been using Spotify’s “Songs for You” feature, which creates a playlist of songs based on your past listening habits. I’ve noticed that it recommends earworms – catchy tunes that get stuck in my head. While these songs are somewhat similar to my usual music preferences, they’re not what I would expect to discover during my musical explorations.
This makes me wonder if there is some hidden option within Spotify’s corporate structure, or perhaps even the Illuminati, where artists can pay to have their songs promoted more frequently. As a result, listeners experience the mere exposure effect and ultimately develop a liking for the song, wanting to listen to it more.
