You can completely disable the media OSD by using a small freeware application called HideVolumeOSD. This will prevent the OSD from appearing but will keep the media-buttons functionality (play, volume...).
On the other hand, Chromium-based browsers have started to allow the use of media-keys to control the playback. You can disable it, but it will completely remove the media-keys support: navigate to about:flags
and search for media session
, then disable the Media Session Service
and Hardware Media Key Handling
:
![enter image description here](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i.sstatic.net/TnXY3.png)
Some other applications may allow controlling it individually, like Spotify: Menu > Edit > Preferences > (scroll down) Display options > Show desktop overlay when using media keys