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Tag: spotify

  • Spotify reportedly plans to add music videos to its app

    Spotify reportedly plans to add music videos to its app

    Spotify is working on a new feature that will allow users of its music streaming services to watch and listen to full-length music videos in its app. While the company hasn’t confirmed the information, it’s common for Spotify to thoroughly test new features before making them official.

    According to a new report by Bloomberg, Spotify is considering adding music videos to its app, but that doesn’t mean that the feature is already being tested. The move is meant to put Spotify in a better position against competitors like YouTube and TikTok.

    Currently, Spotify is looking for partners that will help it bring music videos to its streaming service, at least according to people familiar with the company’s plans. If the rumor ends up being accurate, it will confirm what seems to be a trend for Spotify: complete focus on video content.

    Spotify is trying to keep up with other players in the market by adding features that proved to be very popular among users of competing services. In that regard, Spotify launches “clips” at the beginning of the year, a new feature that would allow artists using its music streaming service to publish videos shorter than 30 seconds as a means to keep in touch with their fans.

    After heavily focusing on podcasts until a few months ago, it looks like Spotify has turned its attention to video content in an attempt to appeal to different audiences. Either it will succeed or not, it depends on its approach and how well its partners will react to Spotify’s business proposal.

    Although it might not be something that will bring to many customers to the platform, it could convince those that are already subscribed to not consider switching to other music streaming services due to lack of new features.

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  • Spotify owes a $5.4 million fine to the EU

    Spotify owes a $5.4 million fine to the EU

    Spotify is one of the top-choice apps when it comes to music streaming. The company has had a ton of experience and it has just begun to expand its feature-set. Podcasts and ebook support are just two of the new reasons the platform gives you to install it on some of the best phones out there.

    But then it mishandled user data, so the EU had to fine it for $5.4 million.

    The European Union spent a long time arranging the specifics of how companies of all shapes and sizes are to handle user data. We won’t bore you with the specifics, but the requirements are hefty and ranging from where the data should be handled to how it should be stored.

    This, of course, is regarding the type of data that can be associated with an individual in order to recognise them as a person. When not handled correctly, this GDPR data may be used for nasty things like mass marketing or scams, so it is actually an important topic.

    The fine in question comes from the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection and is based on a complaint from way back in 2019. Talk about a blast from the past! It turns out that at one point, Spotify failed to provide customer data upon request, which is part of a user’s rights as per EU regulations.

    But then it gets even better worse: Spotify failed to explain how they were using the data in question, which raised tons of concerns. And for context: this isn’t anything weird for the EU. When a company fails to give a good reason why it needs a certain type of data, a lot of EU citizens will be eager to pursue their rights.

    In addition to the fine, Spotify is expected to present the complete set of requested data to the individual who submitted the complaint — even though at this point years have passed — along with the written process for data handling.

    The Swedish PDA’s investigation concluded on the bright side, as it found that Spotify is doing things properly. That, however, won’t save the company from the aforementioned fine, so Spotify responded with intent to appeal this decision in the future.

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  • New Spotify lock screen widget for iPhone gives users one tap access to the music streamer

    New Spotify lock screen widget for iPhone gives users one tap access to the music streamer

    Spotify announced today on its Community Blog that iOS users can now use a lock screen widget to help them get into the Spotify app faster on their iPhone handsets. Or, as the music streamer wrote, “After you add the new Spotify widget to your Lock Screen, tapping on it will quickly open the Spotify app. So whether you’re busy on the go, in the car, or at home, the Spotify app is now always just one tap away.”
    To add the Spotify lock screen widget to your iPhone, you must be running iOS 16 or later. Here’s how you can add it to your iPhone:
    1. Unlock your iPhone. When you see your Lock Screen, long-press on the screen until the Customize button pops up, then tap the Customize button.
    2. Tap and select Lock Screen.
    3. Tap Add Widgets (if you’ve already added widgets, tap on the box area underneath the time).
    4. Scroll through the list and tap on Spotify or drag it to add it to the Lock Screen.
    5. When you’re finished, tap on the (X) Close button at the top right of the list, then tap Done in the top right corner of the screen.
    6. Tap on your finished Lock Screen to exit.
    If you don’t see the option to add the Spotify lock screen widget, you might not have your phone’s latest version of the Spotify app. Simply install the app from the App Store to get the latest version of the app. You can find it here.
    How to add the Spotify lock screen widget to your iPhone
    Spotify also offers a widget for the iPhone home screen. To add this to your phone, long-press on an empty bit of real estate on your home screen until your apps jiggle. Tap the “+” button in the upper left corner and search for the Spotify widget. There are two different widgets to choose from with the larger one showing the album covers from the last five songs you’ve streamed on the platform. The smaller widget shows the album cover from the last song you streamed. Tap on any album cover to return to the Spotify app.
    Once you’ve decided on the widget you want to use, tap on the “Add Widget” button at the bottom of the screen and the widget will find a place on your home screen. If you’re satisfied with the placement, tap the “Done” button in the upper right corner of the screen.
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  • Spotify launches new Niche Mixes feature for even more personalized recommendations

    Spotify launches new Niche Mixes feature for even more personalized recommendations

    Spotify already has a Mixes feature that provides users with personalized recommendations, but if you’re not content with what playlists you’re offered, the music streaming service has a brand-new product for you: <a href=”https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-03-28/introducing-niche-mixes-personalized-playlists-for-almost-anything-you-can-think-of/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener”>Niche Mixes</a>.

    The new addition to the Mixes family provides users with multiple personalized playlists that bring together everything that Spotify’s Mixes offer in a more user-friendly manner. With Niche Mixes, Spotify gives users access to tens of thousands of Mixes unique to them based on just about anything you can think of.

    The new Niche Mixes feature can be accessed from the Made For You hub within the Search tab. Spotify users looking for something very specific can now search for an activity, vibe, or even an aesthetic that describes the moment they’re in, and then add the word “mix” at the end.

    Typically, you’ll be getting 5-10 Mixes that the service thinks you’ll like, but if none are suitable for you, then you can specifically search for another set of personalized playlists. Each Mix is updated daily, so even if you get similar results, you might actually get different vibes every day.

    Now, the good news is Niche Mixes is available globally to Free users and those who chose to pay for a Spotify subscription. Remember that this is an English-only feature regardless of where you live.

    This feels more like an improvement to Spotify’s search engine rather than an update to the service’s algorithm. Regardless of what stands behind the new Niche Mixes, Spotify’s new feature will certainly add even more functionality useful to those who want to go even more in-depth into what music they’re listening at any given time.

    Anyway, give the new feature a try and let us know in the comments if it’s working for you.

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  • Spotify upgrades one important feature in the latest update

    Spotify upgrades one important feature in the latest update

    One of the biggest music streaming services, Spotify, has just announced a small yet meaningful update to its app. Typically, we don’t report on updates that involve minor changes like turning a Heart icon into a Plus, but Spotify’s update does more than add visual changes.

    Earlier today, Spotify officialized a brand-new change that benefits all its users. The app’s iconic Heart button will be replaced with a Plus button that does more than just marking the songs you want to save.

    Basically, Spotify is unifying the Heart and “Add to playlist” icons into a single symbol: the Plus (+) button. This means that when you use the Plus (+) button, you will be able to save and choose the destination of any song, playlist, or podcast with a single tap.

    Going forward, in order to save a song or podcast episode, Spotify users must tap the Plus (+) button positioned to the right of the song or episode title in the Now Playing view. After the song or podcast has been added to Liked Songs or Your Episodes, the Plus (+) button will become a green check. Moreover, you can even change the destination of your saved content by simply tapping the green check.

    Another option at your disposal makes it possible to add an entire album to Your Library. Simply click the Plus (+) button to add your favorite album, playlist, or audiobook to Your Library. Once you see the green check, it means that it’s been successfully added.

    Obviously, the reason behind the new change is a simple, more unified user experience. Having a more streamlined way to save favorite music and podcasts means a lot these days when any extra action makes us lose focus.

    Unsurprisingly, this is exactly what Spotify found in its user research. On top of that, the same research found that saving songs and podcasts makes us more likely to listen to them again, which is pretty interesting.

    According to Spotify, the new changes to the Heart icon will begin to roll out to all users globally on iOS and Android starting today and will become available to all users in the coming weeks.

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  • Spotify launches new feature powered by AI to enhance music curation

    Spotify launches new feature powered by AI to enhance music curation

    As more companies adopt AI (artificial intelligence), many services are getting new features that are now fully automated and less curated by the human touch. Spotify’s new AI DJ is meant to bring personalization to a new level.

    In an announcement earlier today, the music streaming service explains that its new feature is a personalized AI guide that “knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you.” It might sound frightening at first glance, but it’s exactly what many customers are looking for when using Spotify on a daily basis.

    Granted, the new DJ feature powered by AI is only rolling out in beta, it promises to provide customers with a curated lineup of music, as well as commentary around the tracks and artists that it thinks the user likes “in a realistic voice:”

    Among the many capabilities of the AI DJ, Spotify mentions the ability to sort through the latest music. It can also look back at some of the old favorites and serve more songs that the user might not have listened to for a long time.

    The AI DJ assesses your actions all the time and after each review, it tries to deliver a stream of songs picked specifically for you. More importantly, it refreshes the lineup based on feedback regularly.

    If you don’t like a song picked by the DJ, you can tap the dedicated button and it will skip to a new track. As with all these AI-powered features, the more you use the DJ, the faster it learns what you like, so the better your recommendations will be in the end.

    The new DJ feature is available via the Music Feed on Home in the Spotify mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Simply tap Play on the DJ card and the app will do the rest. You’ll be getting music and short commentary on the songs and artists specifically picked for you. Don’t forget that you can skip a song by tapping the DJ button at the bottom right of the screen.

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  • Spotify has officially crossed 200 million premium subscribers

    Spotify has officially crossed 200 million premium subscribers

    The recently concluded holiday shopping season may not have been as auspicious for the global smartphone market as we’ve expected over the years, but for some reason, the music streaming industry doesn’t appear to be suffering any consequences of a tough economic climate around the world.

    Not yet, at least, and not as far as said industry’s heavyweight champion is concerned, with some of Spotify’s key success indicators surging higher than initially anticipated during the final quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021 and last year’s third calendar quarter.
    There are now 205 million people worldwide paying for Spotify’s “Premium” service tier, up no less than 10 million from Q3 2022 and a cool 25 million versus Q4 2021. How does the new milestone compare to the competition? Unfortunately, there’s no way to know… for sure.
    That’s because Apple effectively stopped making those kinds of figures public back in 2019, when around 60 million people were subscribed to the company’s paid Music platform. Of course, many unofficial guesses and estimates followed, with one from 2021 boosting that number to 78 million and one from last year circling 88 million.
    What’s crystal clear is that Apple Music still has a long way to go before hoping to catch up to Spotify’s usage digits, which also include 295 million ad-supported monthly active users (up from 273 million in Q3 2022) and a grand total of 489 (!!!) million Q4 2022 MAUs, representing a massive increase from 456 million the previous quarter and 406 million in Q4 2021.
    It’s equally true that Apple is very clearly prioritizing the profitability of its “Services” division as a whole over the subscriber growth of each individual platform, while Spotify continues to bleed money as it brings in more and more listeners.
    We’re talking a €231 million ($250 million) operating loss for the Sweden-based company behind the world’s most popular audio streaming product between October and December 2022 alone, and although things like “higher personnel costs” and “higher advertising costs” are blamed for this latest financial deficit, the truth is Spotify last posted a quarterly profit all the way back in 2019.
    Looking ahead to the near future, Spotify doesn’t expect its financials to bounce back all of a sudden despite predicting another boost to 207 million premium subscribers and, yes, half a billion total monthly active users. Now that’s a number for the ages!
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  • Spotify urges the EU to reign in Apple’s App Store monopoly

    Spotify urges the EU to reign in Apple’s App Store monopoly

    As many of you probably know, there’s always heated competition between tech companies. And sometimes, a company is bigger than another… in one way or another. Battles between competitors are not a rarity in the tech world. One such battle has been undertaken by Spotify, which is, let’s say, unhappy with Apple Music and has taken it to file an antitrust case against Cupertino. And now, 9to5Mac reports things are getting a little heated.

    Basically, Spotify is alleging Apple is competing with it via Apple Music in an unfair manner. Spotify is stating that Apple can offer subscriptions within Apple Music with no penalty, but Spotify needs to pay 30% to Apple for doing the same (or 15% from year two).

    Back in 2019, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint against Cupertino in Europe. Since then, the European Commission has reached a preliminary conclusion siding with Spotify but a final decision has not been reached yet.Now, Spotify has sent an open letter (backed by 7 other companies) to the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager. The companies that backed the music-streaming platforms represent digital organizations for audio streaming, web software, communications, publishing, and marketplaces.

    Here’s the list of the companies that signed the open letter:

    • Basecamp
    • Deezer
    • Proton
    • Schibsted
    • Spotify
    • European Publishers Council
    • France Digitale
    • News Media Europ

    Read the full open letter here.

    In the letter, the companies request “swift and decisive action” to be taken from the European Commission against “anti-competitive and unfair practices by certain global digital gatekeepers” – namely Apple. The letter goes on to indicate that Apple has been imposing unfair restrictions on businesses. Additionally, the letter states those alleged anti-competitive practices are harming innovation, European consumers, and the development of apps and services.

    The letter also underlines that a decision has to be reached quickly, as “every day that passes is a loss for innovation and for the welfare of European consumers.”

    In the fall of last year, Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) entered into force, after being adopted in the summer. The DMA is addressing App Store monopoly, third-party app payments, and cross-OS support for iMessage. Spotify’s letter signifies that enforcement of the new legislation is needed against Apple and underlines that any attempts to circumvent the new legislation by “misleading and vague grounds of privacy and security” should be resisted.
    All in all, the letter urges the European Commission to make a decision on the case against Apple. It will be interesting to see whether or not the EC accelerates its decision making and what results from this battle.
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  • Spotify might soon know when your workout calls for a pump-up song

    Spotify might soon know when your workout calls for a pump-up song

    It appears that Spotify is working on an interesting new feature. The music streaming service is currently developing a HealthKit integration for its app. Chris Messina found this in Spotify’s iOS app code.

    For those unfamiliar with HealthKit, it is an iOS API that allows third-party apps to access data from Apple’s Health app. But why is Spotify working on a HealthKit integration? Well, a message found by Messina — a product designer, who constantly keeps his eyes open for upcoming features in Spotify — states that Spotify is developing this feature to be able to “get the right music for your workout.”

    The message further explains that the app will collect data like distance, pace, or speed during your training. The collected information will let Spotify match your training sessions with what you listen to and understand what songs motivate you most.

    Now, we must note that for an app to access your health data, you must first grant it permission. So, Spotify won’t be able to obtain your health information if you don’t want it to.

    However, you will surely agree that a good pump-up song at the right moment can put you in the necessary state of mind and help you break your deadlift or bench press records in the gym. With such a feature, Spotify would know the perfect moment to play that one song that makes your blood pump every time you hear it, thus helping you achieve greater results during your workout.

    Unfortunately, there is no word from Spotify about this new feature, and we don’t know when the music streaming platform plans to release it.

  • Spotify introduces new billing choice for Android users

    Spotify introduces new billing choice for Android users

    Spotify and Google announced over the weekend they have partnered to offer customers using Android devices a new purchase experience. The new feature was unveiled in March but wasn’t released immediately. After months of working to build the so-called User Choice Billing (UCB), the feature is now rolling out to Android users.

    With the new User Choice Billing feature, Spotify users will be able to subscribe and make purchases using the payment option they want. Starting this week, UCB is making its way to Spotify subscribers in select markets around the world. Although Spotify did not mention where exactly the feature should be available in the next few days, it did confirm that it will expand the test to more markets in the coming weeks.

    Spotify is one of the first companies to implement UCB with Google. First tested with Google Play, the new feature is meant to provide users and developers more flexibility and choice when it comes to purchasing and selling products.

    Google Play’s user choice billing was initially introduced in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Economic Area, and later on expanded to the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. We can’t confirm if Spotify targets the same regions, but at least some of these countries should have the new user billing choice available.

    Bumble and Spotify are the first companies to partner with Google to provide their customers with new user choice billing, but more names might pop up in the coming months if the new feature proves successful.

    That said, if you’re living in one of the select markets where Spotify introduced the new feature, and you’re using an Android device, you should soon be able to choose how to pay for your Spotify subscription. If you’re using an iOS device, you’ll probably never benefit from this option, or at least not anytime soon.

  • Spotify debuts a three-month free trial period

    Spotify debuts a three-month free trial period

    Do you recall the days when you had to manually download each song / album you like before transferring it to a media player? Neither do we. Spotify has revolutionized the way we listen to music by making it more convenient (and much cheaper) than ever before.

    It is easy to get hooked on Spotify and it seems the streaming giant knows this fact very well. This is why now  the platform is extending its free trial period to 3 months. For reference, previously the free trial period was just 1 month long. Spotify shared this information in an official blog post.

    So how exactly will this 3-month trial period work? Put simply, first-time users, after creating an account, will not be billed during the first three months of their new subscription. The first payment will take place at the end of the third month.

    Additionally, if for whatever reason they are not thrilled with the streaming service within the trial period, users will be able to cancel their subscription without incurring any fees in the process. In essence, if a user opts out before the three-month mark has passed, the time spent streaming will be virtually free.

    The longer trial period also extends (pun intended) to past users who no longer use Spotify. For a measly $9.99, ex-subscribers will be able to get three full months of streaming (i.e.  less than $4 a month). There is one catch, however. This offer only applies to users who made the decision to cancel their subscription before July 15th 2022.

    The new extended trial period will be available across 135 markets and the offer will come into effect after September 11th. If this does not convince you to give Spotify a chance, nothing will.

  • Spotify launches new Home experience for Android users, iOS gets it too

    Spotify launches new Home experience for Android users, iOS gets it too

    Another week, another Spotify update. The music streaming giant has just announced plans to launch a brand-new Home experience for Android users. The new experience will feature feeds for both Music and Podcast & Shows, and will be coming to iOS at a later date.

    The main hub for recommendations, Spotify’s Home is meant to help users easily scroll through the type of content they’re looking for. The updated version will make the experience more personalized while allowing Spotify users to dive even deeper into their recommendations.

    Starting with the Music feed, Spotify listeners will be provided with quick access to suggestions, which will be based on their music taste. Additionally, album and playlist recommendations along with buttons to make it easy to share, like, and instantly play music will be available too.

    On the other hand, in the Podcast & Shows feed, Spotify users will be able to quickly access new episodes of their favorite shows. Also, personalized podcast recommendations will be an important part of the new Home experience. Finally, the new hub will allow listeners to read episode descriptions, save to Your Episodes and start playing podcasts without leaving the page.

  • Spotify launches individual buttons for Premium users

    Spotify launches individual buttons for Premium users

    Not a week goes by without Spotify launching a new feature for its customers. The music streaming service announced gains in both paid and free customers back in April, so the new often-released new features are meant to keep subscribers loyal and turn free customers into paying ones.

    The most recent new feature announced by Spotify is exclusively aimed at turning free users into subscribers. The music streaming service revealed plans to launch individual buttons for Shuffle and Play, which will only be available for Spotify Premium users.

    Spotify has a single button for that merges these two important options – Play and Shuffle, but an upcoming update will separate the two for Spotify Premium users. It will make it clearer and easier to choose the mode that a user prefers at the top of playlists and albums.

    According to Spotify, the new feature will be rolled out on iOS and Android mobile devices for Spotify Premium users worldwide over the coming weeks, so look for the two new buttons as soon as you see an update for your Spotify app. Don’t bother though if you’re using Spotify’s free tier.

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  • Spotify working on a Community page that shows what your friends are listening to in real-time

    Spotify working on a Community page that shows what your friends are listening to in real-time

    Spotify has been steadily evolving in the past few months, from testing more podcast features to aiming to conquer the audiobook market. It appears the music-streaming platform has another area in which it sees more possibilities for growth – the social aspect. Spotify is working on adding a new Community tab, which will allow you to check out what your Facebook friends are listening to.
    Then, what is this feature all about (at least for now)? The Community page looks similar to the Friend Activity sidebar in the desktop version of Spotify. The page lets you keep track of what your friends are listening to in real-time.Well, it basically pulls the list of songs from your friends’ Facebook accounts – if these are connected to the app.

    You can get a preview of the tab if you have an iPhone: open Safari, go to “spotify:community” via the address bar, and then tap the button to open the Spotify app. This shortcut doesn’t work on Chrome on Android so far, so only iPhone users can get a glimpse of the new page for now (it is still unfinished by the way, as it is in early development).

    Given the fact that this feature is still in early development, it is unknown how much time it will take for Spotify to refine it and release it as a part of an official update. So, it might take a while before you’ll be able to check out your friends’ music preferences from the app.

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  • Spotify rolls out new feed to its mobile app to help users find live shows

    Spotify rolls out new feed to its mobile app to help users find live shows

    Spotify has just announced a new feature aimed at users who typically search for their favorite creators’ live events within the app. Previously known as Concert Hub, the feature has been renamed to Live Events Feed and received a handful of improvements.

    First off, you’ll be able to find the new feed by search Live Events in the Spotify app. This is the service’s new place where users can find live events in their local area, personalized for them. Spotify revealed that it’s been supported by various ticketing partners who helped make the new feature more useful.

    Ticketmaster, AXS, DICE, Eventbrite, and See Tickets are just some of Spotify’s ticketing partners that are sourcing the listings in the Live Events Feed. It’s an interesting feature if you’re interested in live events, but it’s more helpful for artists as live shows were terribly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In addition to being able to find live events of their favorite artists, Live Events Feed also includes a new messaging tool to offer fans personalized recommendations for upcoming live events based on their listening habits. On top of that, users can choose to be notified about potential live events in their local area.

    Finally, Spotify says that it has also embedded show discovery into their app. So, if an artist that you’re listening to has an upcoming tour date, Spotify will show that live event to you in the app, while you’re listening.

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