Spotify has overhauled its mobile app in favor of a more TikTok-style experience, introducing a slew of new features for fans and creators alike. The streaming giant unveiled the changes during its March 2023 Stream On event. As pressure from the competition rises, Spotify is continually adding new features to keep users hooked and maintain its hold as one of the world's top streaming platforms. Just weeks ago, Spotify jumped on the AI bandwagon and introduced its new AI DJ tool for creating personalized, curated playlists.
In the words of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, the latest redesign “marks the biggest change Spotify has ever undergone since we introduced mobile 10 years ago.” He further explained that this new, dynamic experience aims to create a deeper connection between artists and their fans, and provide artists with more space to express their work. The changes are expected to start rolling out in the coming weeks to the Spotify app for iOS and Android.
Related: Spotify iOS & Android Users Can Now Search For Songs By Lyrics
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5 Countdown Pages & Perks For Super Fans
Spotify is giving artists a new way to build anticipation for their album releases with its new 'Countdown Pages.' The feature lets fans watch exclusive video clips, pre-save an upcoming release, preview the track list, and watch a timer up until the release moment. Fans who have saved an album release will also receive a notification once the release drops.
With new 'Fans First Emails,' users that are considered a "top listener" for their favorite artists will get messages and emails for pre-sales and merch exclusives before anyone else. Spotify is also going to start adding artists' merch to the 'Now Playing' view so users can purchase merch after enjoying a new song. The platform has also expanded upon its 'Live Events' feed feature, which lets users find concert listings tailored to their location and favorite artists. Even better, there is now an 'Interested' button that lets users tag a concert listing that they'd like to attend in the future.
4 Smart Shuffle
'Smart Shuffle' is the rebranding of 'Enhanced,' a Premium feature that Spotify launched in 2021 that offered suggestions for songs that a user might want to include in a playlist. 'Smart Shuffle' has taken the 'Enhanced' feature a notch further to keep listening sessions fresh with personalized recommendations that match the vibe of an original user-generated playlist. Per Spotify, it "breathes new life into carefully curated user-generated playlists, shuffling tracks and adding new, perfectly tailored suggestions." Now, these suggestions can be automated.
By activating 'Smart Shuffle,' these suggestions can be automatically added to the queue as the playlist plays. The suggested tracks will have a sparkling icon to indicate they were not manually chosen by the user. The user can then go on to include the track if they like it by tapping the '+' sign, or hit the '–'button to get rid of it if not.
3 Discovery Feeds In The Search Tab
Newly-integrated 'Discovery' feeds are coming to the Spotify search tab. Users may now scroll up or down in the 'Search' section of the new Spotify app to view little visual canvas samples from music in their favorite genres. A user can then decide to follow the artist, add music to a playlist, or share it with friends — all from the same location.
Spotify is also introducing this feature to big playlists including RapCaviar, Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and New Music Friday, enabling users to rapidly preview songs on a playlist before choosing to listen to it in full. Visual clips will help users sift through music, podcast, and audiobook previews until they discover something they like.
2 Autoplay for Podcasts
Up until now, podcasts on Spotify did not have the 'Autoplay' feature — but with the new update, Spotify is now serving 'Autoplay' for Podcasts. Just like with music, a suggested episode will start playing once the current episode is over. According to Spotify, consumers have expressed a strong desire for such a feature, and the company believes it will facilitate the discovery of new episodes.
This feature would also make it easier for creators to be discovered. Autoplay can, however, be turned off for those who don't like it. The toggle for disabling it can be found under 'Playback' in 'Settings.'
1 TikTok-Style Home Page With Previews
The new Spotify 'Home' interface allows users to explore visual and audio previews of playlists, albums, podcast episodes, and audiobooks. Unlike the former homepage, this new interface is pretty much an unending stream of media content, all tailored to the user. Users can now simply tap into the 'Music,' 'Podcasts & Shows,' or 'Audiobooks' streams right on the home screen and choose to play from the beginning or resume the preview. Users can also choose to save, share, or explore the artist or podcast pages further.
With these recent updates, users are now more likely to find their favorite types of content, and creators are better positioned to connect with their target audiences. It’s worth noting that some of the features won’t be available for everyone, like the 'Smart Shuffle,' which will only be accessible to subscribers, while other features like the new interface will come to all users. For now, the new Spotify will only be available on mobile, but will eventually be available on other devices.
