Image Credits: Spotify

At Spotify’s Stream On occasion at this time in LA, the corporate launched a major redesign of its app, which capitalizes on its investments in personalization expertise whereas additionally adopting the same short-form video feed because the one popularized by TikTok. In the up to date Spotify cell app, customers and subscribers will acquire entry to a handful of latest options, together with the vertically scrolling “discovery” feeds, a brand new “Smart Shuffle” mode for playlist suggestions, a brand new podcast autoplay characteristic and extra.

Some options, like Smart Shuffle, will solely be out there to subscribers, whereas others — like the brand new TikTok-inspired feeds — will roll out to everybody. However, the options’ availability will attain some markets earlier than others and can arrive at completely different intervals.

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Spotify says the modifications are supposed to make its person interface really feel extra alive and interactive. However, the transfer might serve different functions, as nicely. Most notably, it introduces a brand new floor within the app the place the corporate might later introduce advertisements, a lot as Instagram has accomplished with the addition of Reels. Officially, Spotify doesn’t have something to announce on this entrance at this time, however in an electronic mail with TechCrunch mentioned it’s “excited” about how the choices might evolve over time.

Another perk of a revamp is that it could possibly be a technique to tackle some buyer complaints about how its app has turn into too cluttered and tough to make use of, which limits discovery.

The new design builds on the updates shipped in August 2022, which had separated music and podcasts into their very own feeds. It will probably be instantly noticeable upon the primary launch of the up to date app, as the primary web page — the app’s Home tab — can have been refreshed with the brand new options.

Thankfully, you gained’t be dropped instantly into the brand new TikTok-like expertise with out warning.

Instead, at high of the music feed’s display, you’ll nonetheless discover shortcuts to your customized playlists and mixes. These will not be new — Spotify has an extended historical past of leveraging personalization expertise to draw and retain customers, beginning with the launch of its flagship Discover Weekly playlist in 2015. In later years, it expanded its assortment of customized playlists to cater to customers with all kinds of music tastes and pursuits, along with playlists centered round actions, like commuting or figuring out, and extra.

Image Credits: Spotify

After first highlighting these playlists and mixes, the app will show the not too long ago launched AI DJ feature, presently out there solely to Premium subscribers within the U.S. and Canada. The DJ makes use of generative AI and a natural-sounding AI voice to current its music picks and supply background info on the artist, music or album, amongst different issues. (You can read more about the DJ feature here.)

Image Credits: Spotify

As you scroll down, you’ll have the choice to start out scrolling via the music previews. These are offered as full-screen movies that benefit from the artist’s current Canvas video — the quick, looping video clips that already play when their music is streamed within the app at this time. The format is already profitable, delivering will increase in streams, shares, saves and provides, Spotify claims.

Canvas additionally offered Spotify with a chance to experiment with a TikTok-like feed — one thing it’s been testing for a while. (TechCrunch has reported on numerous tests of a vertical feed in its app in 2021 and again in 2022. At the time, Spotify would dismiss these checks as simply one other of its ongoing experiments. More not too long ago, a TikTok-like video feed had been noticed in testing in Spotify’s cell app, distributed to its TestFlight testers — as seen here on YouTube.)

Image Credits: Spotify

The design Spotify has now settled on following its earlier checks presents a snippet of the monitor’s audio mixed with video. The characteristic permits customers to preview an album, playlist or a single, the corporate says. With playlists and albums, you’ll be able to faucet via the preview card with the intention to preview as much as 5 tracks. In some circumstances, customers may even obtain contextual indications as to why they’re being really useful this stuff.

What’s attention-grabbing about this format is that Spotify will let you take heed to your music whereas scrolling the advice feed on mute. If and if you discover one thing you want, you’ll be able to faucet on the cardboard to go to the total album or playlist view, or you’ll be able to cease your individual music and begin listening to the suggestion as an alternative. You can also add suggestions to your Liked Songs or another playlists for later listening.

Similar to the music feed, the podcasts feed additionally has been up to date with a vertical scrolling person interface. Except in its case, customers gained’t be previewing a looping video — except it’s from a video podcast, after all. Instead, they’re offered with audio snippets from podcast episodes as much as 60 seconds lengthy with real-time transcriptions of what’s being mentioned.

Image Credits: Spotify

Like the music feed, customers can scroll via the podcast suggestions vertically with the audio muted, in the event that they select. If they see one thing they like, they’ll unmute and begin listening, choosing up the place the preview left off by tapping “continue listening.” They can also faucet the Plus (+) button — a button Spotify recently updated to combine its “Like” heart icon and “Add to” functionality into one. With a faucet, customers will now have the ability to add the episode to a playlist of saved episodes for later listening, Spotify says.

The firm additionally notes that its audiobook feed will probably be structured in the identical approach as these new music and podcast feeds. Audiobooks are a more moderen providing and one which had, finally depend, over 300,000 books available.

The discovery feeds gained’t solely be accessible via the music and podcast pages, Spotify says. They’ll even be built-in into the app’s Search tab. From right here, customers will have the ability to bounce into customized feeds for issues like genres and moods.

The firm says the algorithm behind these feeds will rank its solutions primarily based on the person person’s style and preferences, not common recognition.

Outside of the brand new feeds, one other change can also be centered on discovery however is a extra minor tweak.

The firm in 2021 had launched a characteristic referred to as “Enhance” that may make suggestions of songs that could possibly be added to a playlist you had created. Now, Spotify’s Premium subscribers will have the ability to automate the sort of discovery with out having to manually assessment the solutions. This will probably be accomplished by toggling on a brand new “Smart Shuffle” possibility that may add Spotify’s solutions to the queue as your playlist streams. (A sparkle icon will point out which tracks are being really useful). If you want a monitor, you’ll be able to faucet the plus button so as to add it to the playlist. And in the event you don’t, you’ll be able to faucet a minus button to take away it.

Image Credits: Spotify

“Smart Shuffle brings new life into listeners’ playlists by recommending and visualizing additional songs that perfectly connect with the playlist,” mentioned Spotify co-president and CTO Gustav Söderström, throughout the occasion. “It’s already rolling out worldwide. So the next time you’re ready to refresh your playlists, you can tap the shuffle icon and we’ll throw the right new songs into the mix.”

In addition, podcast listeners may even acquire a brand new characteristic that may routinely begin taking part in a really useful episode if you end streaming an episode from a distinct present. Spotify claims such a characteristic has been in excessive demand amongst customers and can enhance discovery of latest exhibits. However, those that don’t take pleasure in an autoplay expertise will have the ability to flip it off in Settings (Settings –> Playback –> toggle Autoplay).

The new options, mixed with the not too long ago launched AI DJ, are centered on addressing one of many bigger complaints from each followers and artists and creators alike: new content material discovery. As the radio mannequin has died, artists at the moment are extra depending on providers like Spotify to characteristic their tracks on editorial playlists or insert their songs onto customers’ Discover Weekly. In concept, these updates might open a brand new window for locating followers.

But arguably, this replace could possibly be pretty controversial. There are those that are sick of the TikTok-ification of all their apps, from Netflix to Reddit to Amazon to extra direct rivals from Snap, Instagram and YouTube, amongst others.

Spotify, nevertheless, says suggestions are key to its expertise.

“Spotify recommendations drive close to half of all users’ streams. What’s 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,” famous Gustav Söderström, Spotify co-president and chief product & expertise officer, talking on the occasion.

At launch, Spotify’s redesign will probably be mobile-only, however it’ll arrive on extra gadgets sooner or later. It will roll out in waves to the corporate’s 500+ million month-to-month lively customers, which suggests chances are you’ll not see it instantly, however ought to quickly.