Spotify has announced an update for its mobile app on both iOS and Android platforms that will include new ways for users to access their recently played tracks, as well as discover new music .
The redesigned Home interface will begin rolling out to users across the globe this month and will include updates for both free members and Premium subscribers.
The update adds or changes three key features – better access to audio history, podcast tracking and discovery, and a more visible and reactive ‘new distribution’ section.
The first of these is in the form of a small ‘history’ icon at the top of the Home screen, next to the options warp, which displays up to three months of audio history in the form of individual tracks, giving -in these playlists or recordings songs were obtained from.
For Premium subscribers, the six tiles that sit at the top of the Home screen now show progress bars across podcast events you’ve already started, as well as showcasing new moments. for the following podcasts, marked with a blue dot.
Finally, another Premium-exclusive feature is a new section that sits just below these six tiles to highlight new releases from the following artists, which Spotify claims to be “personal, timely, and re- active to your taste ”.
Listening habits
A side effect of music streaming services and their ‘recently played’ sections is that they make it very easy to fall into cyclic listening habits. This can often come at the expense of discovering newer music, or even rediscovering artists from the past.
While Spotify may have worked to address this with its focus on detection – powered by its well-known algorithm – this latest update could end up helping so much to block on an audience.
Removing a ‘recently played’ tile section from the home screen will no doubt help to kick-start these practices, as well as weakening the top six tiles with new podcast content and the additional ‘new distribution’ category.
But what about that 3-month listening history? While this is not displayed directly on the home screen, it is just one click away and is more detailed than ever. There is a strong potential for this schedule to be large enough to shake listeners out of shorter listening loops but, on the other hand, it may allow the practices to take a deeper grip due to cho granularity.
It’s not yet clear how ‘reactive’ the new solution division will be – hopefully it stays up with the company’s claim – because a sampler who is constantly updating new content will go a long way. in breaking these listening circles.