Popular music streaming service Spotify has announced changes to the app, as well as a new feature.
in one Stream onevent, market leader Spotify announced quite extensive innovations for its mobile apps. Spotify founder and boss Daniel Ek spoke during the presentation of the biggest transformation since the launch of the app. The announced innovations are both visual and functional in nature and bring the platform closer to TikTok or Instagram.
Spotify app with new Home Feed
After Spotify said goodbye to the heart function in a recently released update, the service has now announced new adjustments. Apparently the biggest innovation is the Home Feed, which Spotify has added to its app. This is visually reminiscent of Instagram and Co. Vertical scrolling, there are hashtags like “K-Pop” or “Trap”, you can “follow” artists and much more. In general, the new features make the Spotify app more image- and video-heavy. For example, there will also be short preview clips in the feed that Spotify plays based on their own preferences.
According to Spotify, this should serve to build a closer bond with the respective artists. Music and podcasts each have their own feed or are displayed together in the general overview. In the preview during the event, the feeds were integrated quite unobtrusively. Whoever opens the app will also be greeted by the old design in the future. The feeds then begin further down or via a button in the navigation at the top of the display.
According to Gustav Söderström, co-head of Spotify, the goal is not for users to stay in the feed for a long time – a dig at TikTok and Co.? Rather, it should be about discovering new content for later listening. It is not yet known whether this means that the Home Feed will remain completely ad-free with or without a subscription. The success of the new feature in the Spotify app should then be measured by how many songs or podcasts users make a note of via the feed.
New Smart Shuffle feature announced
With the new feeds, video podcasts will also play an even greater role in the future. Spotify is thus consistently pursuing its strategy of becoming the market leader in the podcast sector as well. The creators should also be provided with new tools for user evaluation.
Another feature announced during the event was Smart Shuffle. Spotify is already known, among other things, for its algorithm, which gives users very precise suggestions based on what they hear. This is still to be expanded. So far, Spotify has played new suggestions in the app after the end of a playlist, or you can alternatively subscribe to a specially created and weekly changing playlist.
With “Smart Shuffle”, Spotify temporarily automatically inserts suitable songs in the app. For playlists with more than 15 titles, this should be one for every three existing tracks. The user can then decide whether or not to keep the titles in the playlist. You can also evaluate the suggestions in order to get the most suitable additions to your own playlists with the help of an AI.