\nSpotify revamps its app with TikTok-style discovery feeds, Smart Shuffle for playlists and more<\/br>
\n2023-03-08 21:52:09<\/br><\/p>\n
At Spotify\u2019s Stream On event today in LA, the company introduced a significant redesign of its app, which capitalizes on its investments in personalization technology while also adopting a similar short-form video feed as the one popularized by TikTok. In the updated Spotify mobile app, users and subscribers will gain access to a handful of new features, including the vertically scrolling \u201cdiscovery\u201d feeds, a new \u201cSmart Shuffle\u201d mode for playlist recommendations, a new podcast autoplay feature and more.<\/p>\n
Some features, like Smart Shuffle, will only be available to subscribers, while others \u2014 like the new TikTok-inspired feeds \u2014 will roll out to everyone. However, the features\u2019 availability will reach some markets before others and will arrive at different intervals.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nImage Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Spotify says the changes are meant to make its user interface feel more alive and interactive. However, the move could serve other purposes, as well. Most notably, it introduces a new surface in the app where the company could later introduce ads, much as Instagram has done with the addition of Reels. Officially, Spotify doesn\u2019t have anything to announce on this front today, but in an email with TechCrunch said it\u2019s \u201cexcited\u201d about how the offerings could evolve over time.<\/p>\n Another perk of a revamp is that it could be a way to address some customer complaints about how its app has become too cluttered and difficult to use, which limits discovery.<\/p>\n The new design builds on the updates shipped in August 2022,<\/a> which had separated music and podcasts into their own feeds. It will be immediately noticeable upon the first launch of the updated app, as the main page \u2014 the app\u2019s Home tab \u2014 will have been refreshed with the new features.<\/p>\n Thankfully, you won\u2019t be dropped directly into the new TikTok-like experience without warning.<\/p>\n Instead, at top of the music feed\u2019s screen, you\u2019ll still find shortcuts to your personalized playlists and mixes. These are not new \u2014 Spotify has a long history of leveraging personalization technology to attract and retain users, starting with the launch of its flagship Discover Weekly playlist in 2015<\/a>. In later years, it expanded its collection of personalized playlists to cater to users with a wide variety of music tastes and interests, in addition to playlists centered around activities, like commuting or working out, and more.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Spotify<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After first highlighting these playlists and mixes, the app will display the recently launched AI DJ feature<\/a>, currently available only to Premium subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. The DJ uses generative AI and a natural-sounding AI voice to present its music selections and offer background information on the artist, song or album, among other things. (You can read more about the DJ feature here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Spotify<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As you scroll down, you\u2019ll have the option to start scrolling through the music previews. These are presented as full-screen videos that take advantage of the artist\u2019s existing Canvas video<\/a> \u2014 the short, looping video clips that already play when their music is streamed in the app today. The format is already successful, delivering increases in streams, shares, saves and adds, Spotify claims.<\/p>\n Canvas also presented Spotify with an opportunity to experiment with a TikTok-like feed \u2014 something it\u2019s been testing for some time. (TechCrunch has reported on various tests of a vertical feed in its app in 2021<\/a> and again in 2022<\/a>. At the time, Spotify would dismiss these tests as just another of its ongoing experiments. More recently, a TikTok-like video feed had been spotted in testing in Spotify\u2019s mobile app, distributed to its TestFlight testers \u2014 as seen here on YouTube<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Spotify<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The design Spotify has now settled on following its earlier tests presents a snippet of the track\u2019s audio combined with video. The feature allows users to preview an album, playlist or a single, the company says. With playlists and albums, you can tap through the preview card in order to preview up to five tracks. In some cases, users will also receive contextual indications as to why they\u2019re being recommended these items.<\/p>\n What\u2019s interesting about this format is that Spotify will allow you to listen to your music while scrolling the recommendation feed on mute. If and when you find something you like, you can tap on the card to go to the full album or playlist view, or you can stop your own music and start listening to the suggestion instead. You also can add recommendations to your Liked Songs or any other playlists for later listening.<\/p>\n Similar to the music feed, the podcasts feed also has been updated with a vertical scrolling user interface. Except in its case, users won\u2019t be previewing a looping video \u2014 unless it\u2019s from a video podcast, of course. Instead, they\u2019re presented with audio snippets from podcast episodes up to 60 seconds long with real-time transcriptions of what\u2019s being said.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Spotify<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Like the music feed, users can scroll through the podcast recommendations vertically with the audio muted, if they choose. If they see something they like, they can unmute and start listening, picking up where the preview left off by tapping \u201ccontinue listening.\u201d They also can tap the Plus (+) button \u2014 a button Spotify recently updated to combine its \u201cLike\u201d heart icon and \u201cAdd to\u201d functionality into one<\/a>. With a tap, users will now be able to add the episode to a playlist of saved episodes for later listening, Spotify says.<\/p>\n The company also notes that its audiobook feed will be structured in the same way as these new music and podcast feeds. Audiobooks are a newer offering and one that had, at last count, over 300,000 books available<\/a>.<\/p>\n The discovery feeds won\u2019t only be accessible through the music and podcast pages, Spotify says. They\u2019ll also be integrated into the app\u2019s Search tab. From here, users will be able to jump into personalized feeds for things like genres and moods.<\/p>\n The company says the algorithm behind these feeds will rank its suggestions based on the individual user\u2019s taste and preferences, not general popularity.<\/p>\n Outside of the new feeds, another change is also focused on discovery but is a more minor tweak.<\/p>\n The company in 2021 had launched a feature called \u201cEnhance\u201d that would make recommendations of songs that could be added to a playlist you had created. Now, Spotify\u2019s Premium subscribers will be able to automate this type of discovery without having to manually review the suggestions. This will be done by toggling on a new \u201cSmart Shuffle\u201d option that will add Spotify\u2019s suggestions to the queue as your playlist streams. (A sparkle icon will indicate which tracks are being recommended). If you like a track, you can tap the plus button to add it to the playlist. And if you don\u2019t, you can tap a minus button to remove it.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Spotify<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSmart Shuffle brings new life into listeners\u2019 playlists by recommending and visualizing additional songs that perfectly connect with the playlist,\u201d said Spotify co-president and CTO Gustav S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m, during the event. \u201cIt\u2019s already rolling out worldwide. So the next time you\u2019re ready to refresh your playlists, you can tap the shuffle icon and we\u2019ll throw the right new songs into the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, podcast listeners will also gain a new feature that will automatically start playing a recommended episode when you finish streaming an episode from a different show. Spotify claims such a feature has been in high demand among users and will boost discovery of new shows. However, those who don\u2019t enjoy an autoplay experience will be able to turn it off in Settings (Settings \u2013> Playback \u2013> toggle Autoplay).<\/p>\n The new features, combined with the recently launched AI DJ, are focused on addressing one of the larger complaints from both fans and artists and creators alike: new content discovery. As the radio model has died, artists are now more dependent on services like Spotify to feature their tracks on editorial playlists or insert their songs onto users\u2019 Discover Weekly. In theory, these updates could open a new window for finding fans.<\/p>\n But arguably, this update could be fairly controversial. There are those who are sick of the TikTok-ification of all their apps, from Netflix<\/a> to Reddit<\/a> to Amazon<\/a> to more direct competitors from Snap, Instagram and YouTube, among others.<\/p>\n Spotify, however, says recommendations are key to its experience.<\/p>\n \u201cSpotify recommendations drive close to half of all users\u2019 streams. What\u2019s more, each time your music gets played on a program playlist like Release Radar, you receive on average three times more streams from that listener over the next six months,\u201d noted Gustav S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m, Spotify co-president and chief product & technology officer, speaking at the event.<\/p>\n At launch, Spotify\u2019s redesign will be mobile-only, but it will arrive on more devices in the future. It will roll out in waves to the company\u2019s 500+ million monthly active users, which means you may not see it immediately, but should soon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preview-On-Home_Podcast-GIF.gif?resize=680%2C387&ssl=1\")
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