Tag Archives: Spotify

Listeners May Soon Get AI-generated Playlist On Spotify

Before you get all psyched and excited, step on your breaks first. The idea that Spotify users can easily generate a specially curated playlist according to a text prompt, making it much easier and simpler to find music and have it already in an instant playlist, would be a dream! However, this feature is not available to the public and is being tested on a few lucky chosen users.

TechCrunch first reported this new feature as they found out through Spotify that the music streaming company is working on this AI feature but had been tight-lipped on whether it will be publicly rolled out or how the technology works.

Beyond what was confirmed by Spotify themselves that they are working on this new feature, the only other evidence we have of this feature being performed in the wild by the few lucky users that managed to get this rolled out part is through a recent TikTok user by the handle of robdad, which showed a screen recording of them using the new feature and showcasing how it works and where it’s situated.

@robdad_

Since when did they have this update on spotify. Now they got chatGPT making our playlists… also wtf is Which House Exploration😭😭 #spotify #update #ai

♬ Heavy Metal Lover overlapped – jinxknsaudios

In their video, it shows that users who are randomly tested with this feature can find it by pressing the + button by Your Library and scrolling down to see a new addition at the very bottom called AI Playlist with a short explanation that reads “Turn your ideas into a playlist using AI. Currently available only in English” which from the text alone probably means that this feature is being tested in only western regions like UK, US, Ireland, and Canada as that is the similar pattern they did when Spotify first rolled out its first new AI featured known as the DJ which is a personalised Ai guide that will follow your music preference and generate a list to play for you while speaking to you similarly like a DJ would on the radio.

Following the video, when pressing the new option, it brings you to another page in Spotify that shares similarities too many other AI generative sites as it will ask at the top of the page, “What kind of playlist would you like?” and at the bottom has a text bubble where users can type in whatever they’re looking for or mood they are in. Suggested prompts are above the typing space, such as “Get focused at work with instrumental electronics” or “Fill the silence with background café music.”

From there, you can choose any of the example prompts or write in your creative wants, and the AI will process your request. Once it does, it will give you a ready-made playlist with songs that match the descriptions or wants you have written. Users can then have the choice to create the playlist immediately by pressing the start button on the top right, or they can swipe left on the songs to remove the pieces they don’t want within the playlist.

Just from the video alone, the feature looks amazing and will be a game changer for Spotify users, but as of now, Spotify has not given any other comments on the project. Hopefully, it will become available soon, and hopefully, Spotify DJ will come to the Malaysia region soon, too.

Spotify Live is Being Put Down

Spotify launched their Greenroom in response to the astronomical rise in the audio-only social media app that is Clubhouse. Greenroom works exactly like the Clubhouse app, except that it is a smear of green and black on your display compared to the grey, yellow, and white interface of the Clubhouse app. It was not an in-house development from Spotify as many though it was. It was birthed from Spotify’s acquisition of Betty Labs and its app, Locker Room. Later on in its life, it is named Spotify Live.

The hype for Clubhouse was a real one. It was a huge thing during the pandemic and everyone wanted to be on the platform or get involved in one way or another. At some point Facebook and Twitter were teasing their own audio-only social media platform. As the world would come to realise, the Clubhouse hype was short-lived.

No matter, Spotify still sees value in the concept. You can hardly blame Spotify though, they hold the largest podcast library in the world currently, even ahead of Apple and Google Podcast. They see value in ‘live’ radio like shows for their platform. At some point they even wanted to integrate the platform into the main Spotify app just to give users a more direct and centralised access to “live podcast shows”. They even introduced some Spotify Live exclusive shows.

It seems like that will also not be happening as reported by Music Ally. The signs were all painted on the walls though. By the end of 2022, Facebook had pulled its own version of live audio off the plug. Even Spotify Live was struggling to keep interests on their platform and had to cancel a few of their own exclusive shows. The next step, obviously, was to close off the app and probably integrate the platform into the main Spotify app. As it turns out, that might not happen too.

The Verge has reached out to Spotify on integrating the app into the main Spotify app and mentioned that the spokesperson was a little coy about it. They mentioned that “Spotify Live is shitting down completely”. There was also mentions of more investments and further innovations, but that was not necessarily specific to Spotify Live and live audio platforms.

Spotify’s spokesperson also mentions that they still see value in original fan created contents. They also see value in “listening parties”. In that case, it seems like Spotify might explore more of that in the future. You might be able to expect “live concerts” or “live sessions” on Spotify in the future. They have technically done that before when they relaunched the Spotify Live app in 2022 with a Swedish House Mafia listening party.

Thing is, as revealed by Music Ally, live streaming and broadcasting is not exactly a terrible business to be in. As YouTube and Twitch have proven that live videos works and is in a good place. Amazon Music has invested in live video shows that focuses on music alongside Twitch. Apple Music also offers access to select live radio stations. Stationhead, a startup, managed to grow in the space and now they are hosting live release parties on their own.

We are still expecting Spotify to add the Spotify Live feature on their main app. It will not look like the Spotify Live app we know today. We will not see random chat rooms or ‘Live Rooms’ where you can participate in the chat or discussion topic of the day. You will definitely see more ‘listening parties’ within the app though, or even something that resembles a live radio show with music like Stationhead’s initiative. For now, long live Spotify Live, we cannot say that we will miss you because we have not exactly been active on the app anyway.

No More Hearts for Spotify, It’s Just a Plus Now

No, we do not mean that we do not love Spotify. The app is the most popular music streaming app in the world, and we actually like our Spotify a lot. We use it everyday at home and even out and about for both music and podcasts. We even publish our podcasts on Spotify (more coming soon, just be patient).

Spotify’s app interface is also one of the most intuitive you can find in the world of music and podcast streaming currently. You can ‘like’ songs and easily add them to your playlist, or create a separate playlist for whatever song you please for your pleasure. To ‘like’ a song or podcast episode, you simply tap the Heart icon beside the song, or at least that used to be the way.

Spotify has announced though that they are going to be losing the Heart icon button to ‘like’ songs or podcasts. That is not such a bad news though. They are simply integrating the ‘like’ function into the other icon that sits beside the Heart icon. They are integrating ‘like’ into the Plus icon.

Before today’s announcement, the Plus button is where you add the song to your favourite playlists or whichever appropriate playlists you think it fits in. If you have not known, playlists are great ways to organize and finding back your favourite songs without going through the entire ‘search’ process again. Now, the Plus button is not just an ‘add to playlist’ button.

Static Asset
Source: Spotify

The Plus button is both your ‘like’, and ‘add to playlist’ button. You tap it once to add the song or podcast to your Liked Songs or Your Episodes. Your Plus button will now turn into a green check instead of a Plus button. You then tap it again to move the liked song or podcast into its appropriate playlist, decided by you.

The Plus icon does not just work with single songs or podcasts. You can add entire albums with the button. Again, it is a simple tap of the button on the album or playlist to add it to Your Library. You can go into the saved album or playlist and pick out the songs you want to save it to another playlist if you want.

While it might seem a little counterintuitive at first, this is, in our opinion, a more elegant solution to a simple problem. If you are going to add a song into whatever playlist you choose, you clearly like the song (or at least, in most cases). This way, you are technically adding the song into Your Library as a liked song. The next step is really to assign it into whichever playlists the song belongs to in your mind. Instead of clicking on two buttons, you are clicking on one button in one location. In some ways, it cleans up the interface even more. Everything you need is put in one spot. On the other, it sort of helps Spotify’s algorithms to understand your song or podcast better and in turn, recommend more suitable songs, podcasts, and even playlists to you. For more information on Spotify’s new button integration, you can head out to their blog.

Jabra Elite 5 Available in Malaysia Hot Off IFA 2022

Jabra has officially brought its Elite 5 true wireless earbuds to Malaysia. The earbuds make its debut barely a week after the initial announcement in IFA 2022 on 5th September. The new earbuds create a new middleground in Jabra’s true wireless earbuds for everyday users who are looking for versatile, ambient noise cancelling earbuds.

Jabra Elite 5 Launch

The Jabra Elite 5 brings all the essentials that users are looking for in earbuds – lightweight ergonomics, quality sound and effective noise cancelling. The earbuds fit snugly between the Elite 3 and the Elite 7 series which are already available in the market. The Elite 5 one ups the Elite 3 by bringing a scaled back version of most of the features on the Elite 7.

The Elite 5 comes with Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (Hybrid ANC) which uses feedback and feedforward microphones on the earbuds to eliminate any ambient noise. The feedback and feedforward mics work together for better ANC performance that is simpler to use and more reliable across a wider range of frequencies. This feature is powered by the Qualcomm QCC3050 Bluetooth System on a Chip (SoC).

Jabra Elite 5 Launch 2

The same SoC also enables AptX audio which allows for high fidelity audio over Bluetooth. The Jabra Elite 5 also supports AAC and SBC codecs for high quality audio playback. In addition to this, the Elite 5 comes with 6mm drivers. Users are able to customise their sound profiles throught the Jabra Sound+ application which is available on the Apple AppStore and Google Play Stores.

Support for Bluetooth 5.2 also enables multipoint Bluetooth connectivity between two devices. This allows users to seamlessly transition between two devices seamlessly when using the Elite 5. The Elite 5 also comes with built-in support for Google Assistant and Alexa. It also supports Microsoft Swift Pair and Google Fast Pair making connecting to an Android smartphone or Windows PC a breeze. It also has support for Spotify Tap Playback.

Jabra Elite 5 Launch 3

Design wise, the Jabra Elite 5 shares the same design cues we’ve seen in other Jabra earbuds. They’re lightweight and compact making them easy to transport and wear for long durations. You can even wear them when you’re working out as they come with IP55 water and dust resistance. Jabra claims that the Elite 5 has 7 hours battery life with ANC on and 28 hours with the case. Did we mention? It supports wireless charging too.

Pricing & Availability

The Jabra Elite 5 is currently available in stores for MYR699 or USD$149.99 internationally. It’s available in Gold Beige and Titanium Black.

Spotify’s Greenroom Will Integrate to the Spotify App as Spotify Live

The audio based social media platform space blew up in the past couple of months. This is a space technically pioneered by Clubhouse. The app was so popular that other social media platforms paid attention. They wanted a piece of that pie as well. As a result, platform makers started looking into building their own platforms.  

Spotify developed their own platform too for audio based social media platform. They developed Greenroom, a Clubhouse clone in one way but with Spotify’s official colours plastered over everything on the platform. It is, in its own rights, quite a successful experiment by Spotify and it is among the only platforms of its kind that is still in existence, or rather, frequently visited.  

When they launched the platform though, it was launched as an app of its own. While you can use your regular Spotify account to get on to the platform and start having conversations with strangers about all sorts of topics, the app has no other correlation with the main Spotify app. We thought, perhaps Spotify Greenroom is meant to sit separately as a separate app since it does not offer any similar services to Spotify. Until now, that is. 

Based on what has been spotted on Spotify’s beta app, Spotify will be integrating Greenroom or Greenroom similar functionality into the main app itself. The feature will be renamed to Spotify Live instead though. There are rumours as well that the update will be rolling out in the second quarter of 2022. Though this might mean that Greenroom itself might be taken down and moved to the new platform under Spotify’s app, it does not mean that its functions and contents will be removed.  

It will fundamentally be the same as working with Greenroom, except that everything comes under one app now. While it does create a bigger, more complex app, it is a more sensible thing to do for Spotify. The platform within Spotify will allow content creators to organise and manage conversations on the app itself. Users can subscribe to content creators on the app itself and listen in on their LIVE conversations whenever their subscribed content creator creates the conversation room.  

Source: Bloomberg 

Spotify Moving up the Podcast Ladder with Two More Acquisition

Yesterday, news broke about Spotify making two more acquisitions. To be fair, it was more like Spotify announcing that they are making two more acquisitions for themselves. No, it is not really because they have excess cash in hand. It is more because the two acquisitions might just seal Spotify’s position as the king platform for podcasts.

The two companies that Spotify is acquiring are Podsights, and Chartable. Both acquisitions would see the technologies they offer integrate with Spotify’s or enhance their current platform. But you as a consumer might not immediately see the effects of the acquisition. At least, you might not immediately see it directly anyway.

Podsights, according to Spotify, is a leading podcast advertising measurement service provider. It is supposed to ensure that advertisers get more accurate advertising data on podcasts. In short, it is a sort of Google AdSense for podcasts.

Then there is Chartable, a podcast analytics tool provider. The tool allows podcasters to see data regarding their podcast audiences. This would help publishers understand their audiences better and produce more accurate information regarding their podcast. They can even make more informed decisions regarding their podcasts in that case. This would be like the Google Analytics for podcasts.

In a sense, these tools are not really made for end-users in mind. The two new technologies that Spotify will be acquiring exists to allow Spotify’s podcaster’s easy access to tools that could help them make their podcast better, and to even grow their podcasts in different ways. It could help advertisers understand how their ads work on podcasts as well, allowing them to make better decisions on the way they design their ads, or where to place them.

While the technologies attached with the companies Spotify aims to acquire are tailored for podcast, the audio streaming company sees application beyond podcasts. They aim to bring the technology to their full suite of services. This includes their music streaming and eventually videos as well. What they are saying is that they are going to introduce more targeted ads in their music streaming platform soon.

All this not only points to better podcast experience, but also better monetisation opportunities for podcasters. It also means that advertisers get more accurate data and would eventually be willing to spend more on ads within podcasts, music, and videos on Spotify itself. Of course, all this also means more money for Spotify. But beyond that, it ensures that Spotify’s podcasters stay with Spotify and grow with the platform. It will also attract more podcasters to be on the platform, which is always a win situation for Spotify.

The acquisition announcement currently is still merely that, an announcement. There are no mentions on how much the leading music streaming firm is spending on these two acquisitions. They also mentioned that Podsights will be operating as an entity independent from the team in Spotify. Their technologies will still be integrated in the platform’s podcast tools, we are guessing. The reason for the independence is most likely since Podsights have their own list of clienteles currently. For more information on the new acquisitions, you can head over to their blog.

Spotify Retiring Car View

Spotify looks to be retiring its simplified UI for drivers. The Car View mode was initially announced in 2019 as a way to prevent drivers from being distracted while driving. Spotify’s approach was to strip away most of the superfluous elements on the UI giving users a simplified UI. The UI basically only allowed users to do basic actions like skip, pause and rewind when activated.

However, it looks like Car View is being removed from the app. Android users will realise that Car View no longer launches when connected to a Bluetooth speaker. The removal of Car View from the Spotify app was confirmed by a support thread moderator. In the statement, the moderator said that the feature is being retired to “make way for new innovations” and that they are “actively exploring a variety of new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience”.

Spotify Car Thing
Spotify Car Thing // Source: Spotify

While the retiring of the feature seems counter-intuitive, it isn’t really a handicap to the app as users are also able to interact with app via Google Assistant or, if you have a car with CarPlay or Android Auto, you can simply use the app in the dash. However, the timing of Spotify’s move to silently retire the feature is a little sus. The company only just recently released “Car Thing” a display device meant for older vehicles. The device delivers a similar experience to users who can’t use in-dash apps. That said, the USD$80 device is currently only available in the U.S. and Canada.

We’ll just have to wait and see whether a new version of Car View is in the works.

Spotify Tests TikTok Style Video Feeds for Discovering New Music

Spotify is one of the most popular audio streaming apps in the world. It is currently one of the most complete as well in terms of listening options. You do not only have music; you also get the largest collection of podcasts the world has seen so far. On top of that, it might be the cleverest audio streaming app you can find today.

Spotify features nifty ways for you to discover new music. The app understands the sorts of music you listen to daily and gives you suggestions to music that might match your music tastes, your playlists’ moods, or themes. You can even discover music with your friends now with the Spotify Blend feature.

Soon though, you might be able to discover music on Spotify in a brand-new way. You want to keep in mind that this is a feature not fully released to the final app, so you might want to take it with a pinch of salt. The feature was first spotted by a certain Chris Messina on Spotify’s TestFlight build, a beta Spotify app for the iOS. There are no mentions on whether you can find the feature on Android’s version of Spotify Beta apps.

As reported by TechCrunch, the new Discover feature is a button or tab of its own that takes up the fourth spot on Spotify’s navigation bar. Spotify has confirmed that they are in the midst of testing this new ‘Discover’ function. While it does sound like Spotify is simply adding a simple random music search feature to the app, you might want to take a closer look at it.

Discover is a sort of short-form video content that sits on Spotify. It can be likened to TikTok, yes. But the sole purposed of it is for users to discover new music. You cannot be freely posting contents into the platform like TikTok. Instead, the feature now allows users to scroll through short video clips accompanied with curated music paired to the video feed. This does sound a lot like Spotify’s Canvas feature which played short video clips for certain songs.

Again, this feature is only available on iOS devices. It is also not a fully released feature, which also means you must source for Beta versions of the Spotify app. Sadly if you are on Android, you might be out of luck.

Spotify, You One-Stop-Shop for All Your Netflix Soundtracks, Playlists, and Podcasts

In a world where experts thought, just a few years ago, that TV would be dead and short form content platforms like YouTube will takeover, TV and films are doing better than ever. You cannot credit their strength to manufacturers though. Rather, these things come because of technologies that exists and allows the existence of Netflix.

Netflix is now bigger than life though. While there are other platforms like Disney+, or Amazon Prime Videos, Netflix is still king. It is the one platform that you go to time and time again to find contents to watch. It is, at least personally, the first platform that we switch on to find entertainment before even YouTube.

You can never get enough of Netflix though. After every show, you might discover something about the show that you liked. The most common of that is the soundtracks used in the show or movie. Within two weeks of Squid Game’s debut on Netflix, 22,500 unique Squid Game themed playlists were created by Spotify users to keep the show alive.

Netflix very much understands that their users are looking for entertainment far beyond their own scope. Spotify sees this too, obviously, being the largest audio streaming platform known to man. A collaboration was imminent.

Screen Shot 2021 11 18 at 11 17 29 AM 2 1024x648 1
Source: Spotify

They call it the Netflix Hub on Spotify and it is the best way for you to experience your Netflix shows beyond the streaming platform, at least according to Spotify and Netflix. In the hub premium users can find all official soundtracks, playlists, and even podcasts from Netflix’s shows. You can easily access soundtracks from shows like Squid Game, Bruised, and even Cowboy Bebop.

The collaboration is more than just compiling soundtracks, playlists, and podcasts though. In honor of the final season of Money Heist, Spotify has included new videos from the cast of the show (not available in Malaysia yet, as far as we can tell). They have also updated the soundtrack playlist with songs used the latest episodes of the show. There are also new features like Character Match Playlist quiz that matches you to your favourite characters from the Spanish show.

Of course, the collaboration will not just end at Money Heist. As Netflix populates its library with new contents, so will Spotify with dedicated Netflix contents. You might see a Squid Game related video content and quiz in the future, you will never know.

Now you can Easily Block Other People on Spotify

Today’s generation is the most connected one so far. But it is a generation also where cutting off someone is as easy as a click of a button. There is something called ‘cancel culture’ in the world of social media today.

While there are plenty of reasons why you would want to cut a person off, for whatever reasons, on social media, wanting to block a person on streaming platform like Spotify is a little odd. There is a way to block certain artists from ever appearing on your Spotify home feed. That feature was introduced back in 2019. For whatever reason as well, users have been wanting to block other users instead on the platform.

To be fair, Spotify is more than just a music streaming app today. It is also a social platform where you can add friends, follow their playlists and even see what they are playing in real time. In a sense, if someone is in your friends list, their listening privacy is gone. You can ensure that your listening session does not appear on any of your friends feed by turning on ‘Private Session’, but that only lasts for a limited time before Spotify kicks you back into online mode to update your songs and your recommendations.

You now can decide to block other users from accessing your activities now though. It is as simple as clicking the person’s profile and tap the “Block User” option. Once you have done that, the person will not be able to see you appearing on their ‘friend’s activity’ list on the right side of the app anymore, at least on the desktop interface. That way, you also limit what you show the person you blocked.

While showing your Spotify activity may not seem all that harmful, it could lead to a bigger impact. Some might think that just showing the ‘Now Listening to’ information as an empty information your friends cannot use. For example, other users can use the activity information from Spotify to harass you on other platforms like Facebook or Instagram, for example. They could also use whatever information they can gather against you as well for that matter. Remember, information in the wrong hands can be dangerous.

The function should be available to users very soon, at least according to Spotify as per Engadget.