4 features turn Spotify into a new social networking platform

Spotify Wrapped and collaborations with artists

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When using Spotify, the application tracks users' habits and preferences, individually and across a user base of nearly 600 million people. Each year, Spotify compiles this data and presents it as part of Spotify Wrapped. It's a celebration of the year's top artists, tunes, albums and podcasts, as well as personalized experiences based on Spotify usage. The information is presented in a cool user interface, accessible via browser or the Spotify app.

You can use Spotify Wrapped to see personal playlists for your most played artists and songs, see last year's roundup to see what others have been listening to, buy concert tickets and merchandise. concerts, as well as view information about upcoming tours. One of Spotify Wrapped's favorite features is the Create a Blend function, which allows you to compile the listening experience of yesteryear. You can then share this experience with other Spotify users, the same way you share a photo album on social networks. You can also view and share your old Spotify Wrapped playlists going back years.

Spotify Wrapped also encourages interaction between artists with the Artist Messages feed so you can get a fuller picture of what's going on in their personal and professional lives, like having can be done with a Facebook, Twitter or TikTok account. In return, they receive a personal Artist and Creator Wrapped experience, allowing them to better understand their fans and followers.

Sell ​​merchandise on Spotify

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Whether you're a true star or a promising up-and-comer looking to build your fan base, Spotify facilitates the buying and selling of your merchandise on the platform, Just like with a Facebook or Instagram store. This can be both a valuable marketing tool and an effective way for people to show their connection to the artists and creators they love.

The merch service allows artists to sell products directly to fans when they stream their songs or albums using a link to the integrated Spotify store. The store is built on the Shopify platform and linked to the artist's Spotify page. It can then be configured to sell relevant merchandise upon release of a new single or album, promote specific merchandise on album pages, releases, and automatically remove unavailable items from the feed Spotify.

This means we can easily purchase legal goods produced to the artist's agreed standards without having to pay third-party manufacturers for second-rate products . This also means users will have access to the latest merchandise, much of which is Spotify exclusive, which can include everything from limited vinyl releases to books, clothing and items such as jewelry and guitar picks.

Podcast commentary and their potential for expansion

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Spotify released the Comments feature for podcasts in July 2024, following a user poll conducted in 2021. This is an important step forward for the platform as users can interact directly with creators and other users in the same way as comments on YouTube and other forms of social media.

There are many benefits to using Spotify to listen to your favorite podcasts, including Podcast Comments. This feature allows podcast creators to have two-way conversations with their audiences and scan comment feeds to see what listeners think about a particular episode. This feature helps them provide better services by tailoring their content to their audience and responding to user queries and requests in real time. This feature also provides a platform to discuss content and respond to a specific part of the show as it happens. Furthermore, this feature means we can build a community around our favorite podcasts with people with similar interests.

If successful, Podcast Comments could be the test platform for Spotify to launch an interactive comment feed on its music platform. This will allow users to exchange views on current releases, share playlists and provide essential feedback to artists while building a music-focused community. Whether this expansion happens or not, Podcast Comments is already a bona fide social network, proving that the company is taking social interaction seriously.

Improve personalization with Dynamic Discovery

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When Spotify rolled out enhanced discovery functionality in March 2023, it announced that it was the most important step ever in the platform's evolution.

Its aim is to improve the connection between artists and audiences, allowing listeners to take a more active role in how sound is presented and discover among more than 100 million tracks, 6 million podcast titles and more than 350,000 audiobooks accessible on Spotify.

This development improved Spotify's interactivity with easier sharing and discovery, using Twitter-style hashtags to find new music in a specific genre. Users can also effectively sample tracks for faster identification. Its interactive design makes it easy to focus on what we're looking for using general or specific metrics and find new artists, music and media based on personal preferences.

With the Dynamic Discovery update, Spotify feels more like browsing a well-organized record store with knowledgeable staff offering helpful recommendations. It allows us to expand our musical horizons while also giving Spotify access to valuable information to build more accurate customer profiles. Since improving its discovery feed, Spotify has continued to strive to better engage with its user base, increasing speculation that it will eventually become a fully developed social network. .

David Pac

Update 06 August 2024