You may not have noticed, but there is an app that you use often that is moving towards becoming a social network. We are referring to Spotify, the platform for listening to music par excellence that increasingly offers possibilities for interaction. Let’s see, precisely, what changes have been added to turn Spotify into a music social network.
You’ve probably heard of Steam, the video game store developed by Valve. It’s possibly the best example of a service store that has turned into a social network. Currently, it has forums, a user profile with which to interact, and even allows you to write game reviews or upload elements for different games.
Spotify may very well end up becoming a social network where users can interact. Let’s look at four aspects that lead us to believe that the music listening app par excellence is turning into a social network.
Spotify Wrapped Feature
The music streaming app collects users’ music habits and preferences on an annual basis. It displays this information as part of its Spotify Wrapped system.
We could say that it is a kind of annual celebration of music. It allows us to share with the world which songs, artists, groups or podcasts we usually listen to. Information that is displayed in a set of “Stories” that provide different data depending on our use.
This annual event is highly anticipated by users and within minutes you can see social media filled with people’s musical tastes. All Spotify users rush to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, among others, to share what they have listened to in the last year.
Merchandising store
One interesting feature is that the music app makes it easy to buy and sell products within the platform. This is a very useful marketing tool, as artists can create exclusive products for users of this platform.
Artists can sell their fans different types of merchandise while they are listening to their songs. The store is built on Spotify and can be accessed by going to the artist’s page. This allows them to sell records or other items with each new release.
It is also a strength for the user, who has access to legitimate, quality products. We will no longer have to trust that we are not acquiring a possible counterfeit on websites of dubious prestige. In addition, we will have access to new products that, in many cases, are exclusive to Spotify.
Comments on podcasts
Although podcasts have been part of Spotify for a long time, the option to write comments is very recent, specifically, it was added in July 2024. Users can now interact with podcast creators and they can better understand what their audience likes and dislikes.
The new Pocast Comment feature could be a test of the possibility of generating other comment channels. Perhaps an element like the game reviews that currently exist on Steam could be added. We could have the option to comment on an album or song and rate it.
Dynamic discoveries
The feature has been available since March 2023 and is, according to the platform, its biggest change to date. The idea is to improve the connection between artists and audiences. The user has a more active role, being able to browse through more than 100 million songs, 6 million podcasts and more than 350,000 audiobooks.
This feature allows you to discover songs of any genre using something similar to Twitter’s hashtags. It has a very attractive and easy-to-use design, as well as richer searches.
It has allowed us to improve interactions, making the experience like walking through a physical record store. In addition, it offers recommendations based on our tastes in an exquisite way.
