The Degradation of Full Album Playlist on YouTube.

A professional dominatrix, specializing in foot worship, has decided to log into her YouTube account after seventeen years and has created over 900 playlists. Among her compilations is the debut album by the progressive math-rock band 90 Day Men, a record by the popular hyperpop/chiptune artist Saoirse Dream, and snippets from the original soundtrack of the early 2000s anime Chobits. Although it sounds strange, let me lay out the situation: Despite having an alternative paid service—YouTube Music—the copyright enforcement on YouTube is not always rigorous, which has turned the platform into a genuine treasure for music, especially for those lesser-known pieces that might not be available on other legal streaming services.

There are channels dedicated to genres such as screamo, doom metal, or acid jazz that regularly upload rare releases. Searching for almost any artist along with "full album" generally yields good results, regardless of how obscure they are. In some cases, albums are uploaded as a single long video with timestamps indicating the end of each track; in others, the individual songs are compiled into playlists.

However, in recent months, numerous suspicious playlists have appeared in YouTube search results. A sample of 100 channels involved in what has been dubbed "playlist stuffing" has been compiled. These channels have between 30 and 1,987 playlists in total, summing up to 58,191. The vast majority of these playlists contain a nearly hour-long, irrelevant video titled "More."

The video begins with a robotic narration stating: "Investing in cryptocurrency, when approached with a long-term perspective, can be a powerful way to accumulate wealth." You might think its purpose is to redirect unsuspecting listeners to a "pump and dump" scheme. However, what follows is an incoherent ramble covering various topics, from affiliate marketing to search engine optimization. Interestingly, there is no link to any fraudulent page; its description simply mentions it is something for their "big fans," with never-before-seen material.

While providing tips on how to make money online, the most notable aspect of the video is that it has amassed nearly 7.5 million views and is monetized. It is not the only video of its kind; many long albums have been uploaded similarly, and those appearing as stuffed playlists tend to have millions of views.

Less scrupulous artists also seem to be engaging in this type of practice, albeit on a smaller scale. A notable case is the channel Ultra Sounds, which garnered 4.1 million views for its song "The Pause" after including it in Nine Inch Nails' Add Violence album. Other groups have also increased their views by including their songs in playlists that feature recent releases from other bands.

The "More" video takes advantage of a peculiarity in YouTube's user interface that prevents users from seeing how many playlists a user has made, as only 30 load at once. Additionally, search results only display the first two tracks of a playlist, allowing "More" to remain hidden as the third track. This has led many listeners to feel confused when encountering irrelevant promotion after a few minutes.

This type of playlist stuffing could contradict YouTube's policies on deceptive practices. However, a look at the channel where "More" was uploaded reveals that it is not the only video in its content. The channel Hangmeas, which produces custom music with images of its surroundings, also features other videos of Cambodian musicians uploaded 18 years ago.

Most channels involved in this activity are quite old, many created between 2005 and 2006, and it is likely they have been abandoned and later compromised by third parties. This suggests a more insidious manipulation rather than a simple attempt to generate revenue through advertising.

The fact that such old accounts have been reactivated raises many questions about their management and current status. YouTube had not provided any comment on the matter at the time of publication. While these old videos evoke nostalgia, they reveal a shift in the essence of the connection that was once celebrated on the platform and how it has been co-opted by unethical monetization strategies.