>“Didn’t I” by Darondo seems to be a good example of this. A fantastic, forgotten soul song (and from the Bay Area!) that was assumed to be a recognition of my friend’s unique taste in his car... until the other four people inside revealed they’d all had it in the last two weeks, too.

It could be popularized by DJs who are playing it, e.g. Four Tet, whose personal playlist on Spotify now has close to 39 thousand followers.

At least in that case specifically, I doubt it's due to distribution rights. There are no new releases indicated on Discogs, which seems likely if someone new acquired them.

It was also used in “Breaking Bad”, in the scene where Walter sets “Ken Wins” BMW on fire. Thomas Golubić was the music supervisor for BB and Better Call Saul and these shows’ playlists make superb additions for Spotify listening, in my opinion. They’re chock-full of great discoveries like Darondo.

It doesn’t surprise me that “Didn't I” comes up in many playlists, but it does surprise me that the other great songs on that album don’t get worked into Spotify stations. This is a great example of their algorithmic problems.

Good context, thanks both!

> subsequently feel let down upon realizing that they’re (currently) common assignations

This is a really foreign concept to me. Why would you be let down because other people listen to the same song?