The way we explore and enjoy digital music is going to become quite a bit more interesting in 2013, especially on the Spotify platform. I personally enjoy the service and use it to find new music or peruse older albums, I don't currently have loaded onto Itunes. The new features which are highlighted below from an article on Mashable will open up quite a few new possibilities and further cement how much Pinterest has changed the way we view information online.
Find out more tech and music industry info from Mashable
Spotify has plans to make music discovery more personalized and more social.
We've always classified discovery as Spotify's Achilles' heel. Because Spotify's catalogue is so large, finding new music or rediscovering old favorites is difficult.
For a time, Spotify was happy to relegate discovery details to the service's desktop apps. And while Spotify will continue to leverage those apps in helping users find new music, discovery will now be an intrinsic part of the Spotify service on all platforms.
The new features -- which will start rolling out in January -- are the most significant product upgrades that have hit Spotify since the service launched in 2008.
Check out this video to get a look at what the company wants to do.
In a view that looks similar to Pinterest, users can get real-time info on music their friends and influencers are listening to.
More than just showing the activity of your Facebook friends, the Follow tab is designed as its own network of sorts for Spotify users you want to follow.
The Follow tab will also be a way for influencers, celebrities and artists to share their tastes and song picks with an audience. Just as bands can share their favorite photos to Instagram, they can share their latest albums or their picks for what bands they dig on Spotify.
The Discover tab pumps in info from Songkick, Tunigo and Pitchfork to deliver information such as reviews, nearby concerts and related or similar acts.
Rival services such as Rdio and Rhapsody have used the collection motif successfully for years so it's great to see Spotify catching up.
Spotify will also introduce audio previews -- a way to briefly hear a new song before deciding if you want to move away from the song you're playing now.
Another big move for artists is that Spotify will now offer mobile push notifications for new album releases for artists' users follow. For us, this has huge potential for artists and labels who want to use Spotify as a promotional strategy to work alongside traditional retail and digital releases.
When we spoke with the Spotify team, it was clear that everyone involved was excited about what the advent of true social discovery could mean for the service. With more than one million paying users in the United States and the support of artists such as Metallica, it's crucial that Spotify move quickly into personalization and discovery.
Find out more tech and music industry info from Mashable
 |
| Spotify gets more personal in 2013 |
Spotify has plans to make music discovery more personalized and more social.
We've always classified discovery as Spotify's Achilles' heel. Because Spotify's catalogue is so large, finding new music or rediscovering old favorites is difficult.
For a time, Spotify was happy to relegate discovery details to the service's desktop apps. And while Spotify will continue to leverage those apps in helping users find new music, discovery will now be an intrinsic part of the Spotify service on all platforms.
The new features -- which will start rolling out in January -- are the most significant product upgrades that have hit Spotify since the service launched in 2008.
Check out this video to get a look at what the company wants to do.
The Follow Tab
The core to Spotify's new experience is what it's dubbing the Follow tab. Think of the Follow tab as Apple's ill-fated Ping service, but done correctly.In a view that looks similar to Pinterest, users can get real-time info on music their friends and influencers are listening to.
More than just showing the activity of your Facebook friends, the Follow tab is designed as its own network of sorts for Spotify users you want to follow.
The Follow tab will also be a way for influencers, celebrities and artists to share their tastes and song picks with an audience. Just as bands can share their favorite photos to Instagram, they can share their latest albums or their picks for what bands they dig on Spotify.
The Discover Tab
The second component to the next Spotify update is about music discovery. This tab will show users relevant artists and playlists based on what they have in their library, what the people they trust listen to, as well as listening history.The Discover tab pumps in info from Songkick, Tunigo and Pitchfork to deliver information such as reviews, nearby concerts and related or similar acts.
Other New Features
Spotify is also rolling out some other improvements. One of the biggest is "Collection," which is just what it sounds like. Rather than having to create a playlist for every album you want to save, you can just add it to a collection instead.Rival services such as Rdio and Rhapsody have used the collection motif successfully for years so it's great to see Spotify catching up.
Spotify will also introduce audio previews -- a way to briefly hear a new song before deciding if you want to move away from the song you're playing now.
Another big move for artists is that Spotify will now offer mobile push notifications for new album releases for artists' users follow. For us, this has huge potential for artists and labels who want to use Spotify as a promotional strategy to work alongside traditional retail and digital releases.
The Future is Now
The Follow features will first appear on the desktop version of Spotify in the coming weeks. In the new year, the mobile apps and the new web app will get the features as well.When we spoke with the Spotify team, it was clear that everyone involved was excited about what the advent of true social discovery could mean for the service. With more than one million paying users in the United States and the support of artists such as Metallica, it's crucial that Spotify move quickly into personalization and discovery.
