This article says that ambient tracks on Spotify function like a modern-day version of Muzak, but are better than the stuff I grew up with.

https://thump.vice.com/en_uk/article/8xabb3/spotifys-fake-ambient-artists-essay-free-radicals

With most of this stuff, I guarantee you if I gave you a blind taste test, you’d at least think it was pleasant, if not actively engaging, which is more than several decades of Muzak could say.

There’s something kind of beautiful when you think about the fact that millions of people are listening to this music to soundtrack mundane experiences. If it sounds right for whatever purposes you apply it to—soundtracking a decision between brands of detergent at your local pharmacy, twisting your body into advanced yoga poses, concentrating on spreadsheets, or emptying your mind entirely—it doesn’t really matter where it comes from.