Spotify’s Managed Accounts Help More Families Enjoy Listening Together
This week, Spotify brought together parents, kids, creators, and friends in New York City for a song-filled afternoon built around music and family. Guests posed on a stoop decked out with musical instruments, flipped through record stacks, and made their own merch at a DIY T-shirt station. Families gathered at picnic tables over pizza and ice cream, and the young musicians of School of Rock closed things out with a high-energy set. The day was a reminder of the joys of listening together.
Because at Spotify, we know that music discovery and family listening often go hand in hand: 94% of our users count on us to discover new music and artists, and more than half share what they’re listening to with their children. We want to give young listeners a place to explore music independently, which is why we’ve expanded access to our managed accounts for young listeners so now any parent on any Spotify plan can create a free managed account for young listeners. Managed accounts give young people under 13 years old their own age-appropriate space to explore music, regardless of their subscription type. They also offer enhanced controls so parents can guide and shape what music young listeners can discover, from turning off explicit content and hiding video to managing the playback of specific songs or artists. (For families with kids who aren’t quite ready for their own managed accounts, our new kids toggle helps parents keep children’s listening separate.)
Spotify’s Dustee Jenkins takes the stage.
Bandmates, assembled.
The School of Rock...rocking.
Guests taking their managed accounts for a spin.
New York was the latest stop in a series of family listening moments. Earlier this year, we welcomed families in London for a similar afternoon of music, creative play, and discovery. Each event emphasizes something we’ve long believed at Spotify: that music sounds better together.
“As a mom, I want my kids to discover music they love—to find their own favorite songs and artists. And I want to feel good about what they’re listening to,” Dustee Jenkins, Spotify’s Chief Public Affairs Officer and mom of two, told guests in New York from the stage. “That’s the balance we’re thinking about constantly at Spotify: creating room for kids to explore and tools that help parents decide what’s right for their family.” She also had some good news for parents: when kids have their own managed accounts, “Your Wrapped can finally be yours again.”
Between activities, we sat down with some of the families in attendance to hear how music fits into their daily lives.
Cat Belknap & Nat Telfer • @catandnat
Why we listen together:
Cat: How important is it for us to listen to music with our families? 10 out of 10, 100 out of 100. If there’s not music on in the house, it’s not my home.
Nat: It’s just weird when you walk downstairs and there’s nothing playing. And, honestly, music can just set the mood for the day.
Tastes collide—sometimes:
Nat: There’s actually a lot of music that we like that our kids also like. But I do have some exceptions.
Cat: We love Justin Bieber. They’re not on the Bieber Fever. We need to work on that.
Nat: He needs to do another tour, and they’ll be like, “Oh, rightttttt.”
Key to a successful night at home:
Cat: Dinner is a really huge time for families because it’s often hyper and chaotic, and you need to set the tone. We search for “calm dinner playlist” on Spotify. Bring it down to a level one.
Nat: Yeah, I mean, I love when they dance, but like we’re sitting down to dinner, we’re chatting with calm music in the background.
A problem solved by managed accounts:
Cat: If I mess with my 11-year-old’s algorithm, I get in so much trouble. I don’t touch it. I try to do a general DJ mix of all of our likes and listens.
Nat: Don’t mess with my algorithm and I won’t mess with yours.
Cathy Pedrayes • @cathypedrayes
My go-to karaoke song:
“I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany.
Kids’ favorite karaoke song:
They’re a little young for that—oh no, that’s a lie. “Let It Go,” the Frozen song by Elsa, is definitely kid karaoke.
My morning listening:
Recently I’ve discovered audiobooks on Spotify. I also do a little bit of reparto, because I’m from Miami.
Kids’ bedtime soundtrack:
Bilingual lullabies.
How we listen together:
I really like Spotify for Spanish playlists. If I turn on the radio, I don’t have that same access, so I use Spotify to keep Spanish traditions with my kids. So it’s always going to be a Spanish kids’ playlist, whether it’s their favorite movie or show, or if it’s just baby songs, because they’re preschool age.
Last song stuck in my head:
“You’re Welcome” from Moana, but the Spanish version, which is “De Nada.” We listen to a lot of Disney.
Brendan Fallis • @brendanfallis
Why we listen together:
Listening to music in our house is so important. Every day we listen to new songs, different songs. We listen to old jazz. We listen to Madonna. We listen to Sonny and Cher, but we also listen to “I Am A Gummy Bear.”
Wake-up soundtrack:
This morning, my son, who’s 5, was listening to “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith, which is arguably a nice morning song. My daughter wanted to listen to “The Gummy Bear Song,” which is a little aggressive for the morning, but it gets her excited.
School pickup song:
We all like “My House,” by Flo Rida.
Christine Tran Ferguson • @tourdelust
Why we listen together:
It’s super important to listen to music in our house. We wake up to it, we go to bed with it. It keeps him entertained, and also helps with meal time.
Morning and nighttime listening:
In the mornings, I like a little bit of Justin Bieber, and he loves Ms. Rachel. Maybe a little bit of Taylor Swift when I’m winding down and for him, Sesame Street.
Our go-to family singalong:
We do a lot of the regular toddler songs, like “Wheels on the Bus” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”
Kids’ song that’s been stuck in my head:
“Wheels on the Bus!”
Zahra Hassan • @misswondrousoul
The joy of sharing music:
I think it’s very important to listen together, because it bonds you—you can see what your tastes are, and make connections. And it’s fun!
A fan from before birth:
My baby boy, since he was in my stomach until now, we listened to The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean. He loves her.
Artist I’m excited to introduce at home:
Kids’ song that’s been stuck in my head:
Anything by Ms. Rachel—she just dropped an album and it is going platinum in my house. All day, every day.
Maddy Novich • @cargobikemomma
How we listen together:
We use Spotify all the time. We are a cargo biking family, and our number one accessory is a speaker with Spotify. We listen to customized playlists that each of our kids have put together. We listen to music when we’re at home, too—it’s a way that we all connect and come together.
Kids’ song that’s been stuck in my head:
Probably the entire KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack.
I actually think my son turned me on to Shaboozey. I love anything country pop, but I didn’t know about him. Also, Alex Warren—I was not as familiar with him but my son started playing it on Spotify, and now the whole family’s obsessed.
