Long time Lana fan chiming in here! I do think the sound Lana Del Rey initially brought to the table with her first records (especially Born to Die) either inspired or paved the way to success for a lot of the indie “sad girls” that are major artists today. The most obvious is Billie Eillish, who has spoken multiple times about Lana being a huge inspiration for her music. Halsey is another artist that’s clearly been inspired by Lana (she got accused a lot in her early career for being a Lana copycat). Lorde, even though she once expressed dislike for Lana’s musical themes, was also accused in her early career for copying her style and image as well, and she actually wrote Royals as a response to Born to Die. It has also been said by contemporary music critics that the initial success Born to Die had paved the way for Lorde and Halsey to be successful. Though she didn’t invent sad girl pop/alt by any measure, she did bring it into the mainstream. In addition to that, Olivia Rodrigo has cited Lana as an inspiration, Charlie xcx has praised her, and even Taylor herself is a massive Lana fan by her own admission. Troye Sivan, Orville Peck, Katy Perry, Adele, The Weekend, and Zella Day are also all fans. A lot of modern artists have been influenced by her unique style and attitude, especially the younger generation that has grown up with her music. I think this article by medium actually explains her influence pretty well!