Tag: App

The DMA Means a Better Spotify for Artists, Creators, and You

January 24, 2024

What’s one of the top complaints about Spotify? It’s actually something that until now has been outside of our control: the ability to seamlessly subscribe to and buy things through Spotify on your iPhone. Consumers have asked us for years about the dead ends, lack of information, and endless hoops to jump through just to purchase a subscription or audiobook. But beginning March 7, if you live in the European Union, that will change. With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) rolling out, your Spotify is about to become a whole lot better, and that means more opportunities for developers and creators everywhere. 

For years, even in our own app, Apple had these rules where we couldn’t tell you about offers, how much something costs, or even where or how to buy it. We know, pretty nuts. The DMA means that we’ll finally be able to share details about deals, promotions, and better-value payment options in the EU. And an easier experience for you means good things for artists, authors, and creators looking to build their audiences of listeners, concert-goers, and audiobook-loving fans. What’s more? All of this can now come without the burden of a mandatory ~30% tax imposed by Apple, which is prohibited under the DMA. 

For Spotify, this unleashes huge opportunities, so here’s what you can expect us to roll out starting in March:

Direct communications in the Spotify app about subscription offerings, upgrades, product prices, deals, and promotions

We’ll soon be able to give you information in the Spotify app about prices for things like Premium subscriptions and audiobooks.

And we will be able to communicate clearly with you in the Spotify app about new products for sale, promotional campaigns, superfan clubs, and upcoming events, including when items like audiobooks are going on sale.

Seamless and secure in-app payment 

Soon we expect that if you want to buy a Premium subscription or an audiobook, or are looking to seamlessly upgrade from Individual to a Duo or Family plan to save money, you will be able to do so with just a couple of easy clicks.

Right now you can’t upgrade from Free to Premium in the app, and we’re not even allowed to tell you about how much our various subscriptions cost, how you can save money, or where to purchase them. That doesn’t make sense. For everyone living in the EU, this is about to change.

Purchasing an audiobook directly

You will have choices. In the growing list of markets where we offer audiobooks, for the first time you will be able to see the price of an audiobook when browsing, easily buy it, and quickly start listening. 

Downloading other Spotify apps onto your iPhone

Thanks to the DMA we’re looking forward to a future of superfan clubs, alternative app stores, and giving creators the ability to safely download Spotify for Artists or Spotify for Podcasters directly from our site—and that’s just the start. 

The fight continues

It should be this easy for every single Spotify customer everywhere. But if you live outside certain markets, you will continue to encounter frustrating roadblocks because of Apple’s ridiculous rules.

That’s why developers everywhere are continuing to ask other governments to pass their own laws like the DMA. Like Spotify, they want to provide the best user experience for their customers. We’ll keep fighting because freedom from gatekeepers means more choice for consumers and positive impact for artists, authors, creators and developers everywhere. 

 

Our New Integration Allows You To Share Music and Podcasts On BeReal—Here’s How

April 19, 2023

You never know when that yellow hazard notification is going to strike, but when it does, you’re ready. You grab your phone, position it toward whatever you’re up to at the moment, and let BeReal’s double-sided camera do the rest. 

Starting today, when you use BeReal, you can also include what you’re listening to on Spotify! Excited? Here’s how to get started.

  1. Connect your Spotify and BeReal accounts. There are two ways to do this. Eligible users—or even soon-to-be users—can do this by tapping on the music icon that’s shown before posting their BeReal. Otherwise, within the BeReal app, navigate to “Settings,” then “Music,” and follow the prompts to connect to Spotify. 
  2. Once you’ve connected your accounts, we’ll automatically pull in the song or podcast you’re listening to on Spotify at the time you capture a BeReal. You’ll see the cover art of the audio you’re listening to at the bottom of your camera lens.
  3. Check out what other friends are listening to on your BeReal feed! You’ll also be able to listen to a preview of what they’ve shared. 

Spotify was built for moments of everyday inspiration, discovery, and interactivity. It also creates the playlist for your everyday life. BeReal is designed to capture and share authentic moments in your daily life with your closest friends. Combining audio from Spotify with BeReal adds another layer of authentic personalization and connection to your BeReal. 

We’re proud of this integration within the BeReal platform. We’re constantly finding new ways to bring Spotify to more people, and helping fans, artists, and communities connect through audio around the world. Starting today, BeReal and Spotify users on Android and iOS in select markets (including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and the U.S.) can access this experience as it rolls out—with more markets to follow.

 

Update as of May 2, 2023: Users in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, TFYR Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Congo Dem Republic, Congo Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Curacao, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Iraq, Jamaica, Kyrgyz Republic, Kenya, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macao SAR China, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Tajikistan, Tanzania, The Bahamas, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe can now connect BeReal to their Spotify account and showcase what they’re currently listening to when they share their daily BeReal post.

Spotify’s New Home Feeds Make Discovering Your New Favorites Easy

August 9, 2022

Two phones displaying on a green and black graphic background

Spotify’s Home is a go-to spot to find new recommendations and revisit recent favorites. And with an upcoming update to Home, users will get a gateway to great content they will love—from tried-and-true playlists to new artists and thought-provoking podcasts. 

A gif sharing the benefits of the new spotify home feed

This week, we are launching a new Home experience that includes feeds for both Music and Podcasts & Shows. The feature is currently rolling out to Android users and will soon be available on iOS. By creating these feeds, Spotify will help listeners to easily scroll through the type of content they’re looking for at that moment. The updated interface will make the experience more personalized while allowing users to dig even deeper into their recommendations.

In the Music feed, listeners will have quick access to suggestions based on their music taste, making discovering new favorites easier than ever. There will also be album and playlist recommendations as well as buttons that make it easy to share, like, and instantly play music.

In the Podcast & Shows feed, listeners will be able to head straight to new episodes of their favorite shows. They’ll also find personalized podcast recommendations. What’s more, listeners will be able to read episode descriptions, save to Your Episodes or start playing podcasts without leaving the page, so the experience all starts from one place.

A gif showing information about how the home feed works on spotify app

The Home refresh is currently rolling out to users on Android mobile devices. iOS users can stay tuned for updates coming in the near future. 

Live Audio Is Here: ‘Spotify: For the Record’ Explores the New Spotify Greenroom App

July 15, 2021

On this week’s episode of our podcast Spotify: For the Record, we look at the live audio space to see where it’s headed and how Greenroom is part of the equation.

Earlier this year, we introduced Spotify Greenroom, our new live audio app. Available on iOS and Android in over 135 markets, the app offers creators and users a whole new way to connect. From real-time sports reactions to instant interactions with your favorite artist, live audio is providing a new avenue for listeners to engage with content that interests them. 

On the podcast, Spotify’s Head of Creation Platform, Michael Mignano, brings us up to speed on live audio and the appeal of joining the conversations taking place in these virtual rooms. Next, mixed martial arts journalist and The Ringer’s Ariel Helwani shares how he’s using Greenroom as a way to provide live sporting event coverage and connect with an international audience. Finally, Hot Pod News founder Nick Quah talks about the live audio medium, how it differs from traditional podcasting, and where he expects it to go from here.

Get all the details by listening to “Spotify Greenroom & the Future of Live Audio.”

Go on an Adventure With the Spotify Kids Content Explorer

January 26, 2021

Parents, if you’re on the hunt for kid-friendly entertainment options, the Spotify Kids app is a great place to start. If you’re not familiar with the app, you can check out the Spotify Kids Content Explorer, a fun and engaging new way to preview some of the music in the Spotify Kids app before you download it. 

Once you’ve landed on the Spotify Kids Content Explorer experience, your adventure begins by selecting the age of your child, just like you would in the app itself. We have audio suggestions for both older and younger kids, and we tailor the experience to match. From there, pick an emoji that represents the mood or routine for your young one and the website will offer up corresponding songs that are popular on the Spotify Kids app. 

Are you getting your kids ready for dinner? Pick the bath emoji, where you may hear “Wash Your Hands with Baby Shark” by Pinkfong. 

Once you sit down to eat, pick the dinner plate emoji and you might hear a preview of Lil Nas X’s track “Panini.”

Preparing for bedtime and need a way to get your little one to wind down? Pick the bed emoji to get them settled, and you might preview “You Are My Sunshine” by Nursery Rhymes 123.

The tracks you see are just a small sampling of what’s available on Spotify Kids, a standalone app designed specifically for kids ages 3+ and exclusive to Spotify Premium Family subscribers. If you’ve been scouting out Spotify Kids—or if you’re hearing about it for the first time—this new web experience is the perfect way to discover the hand-picked content in the Spotify Kids app for free. The app features a growing library of more than 300,000 kid-friendly tracks and 1,300 playlists curated by Spotify editors.

Love what you see? Sign up for Spotify Premium Family and then download the Spotify Kids app here.

Introducing Spotify Kids, A New Standalone App for the Next Generation of Listeners

October 30, 2019

Spotify is committed to bringing audio content such as music and stories to more people in more ways–including the next generation of listeners. That’s why we decided to launch a fun standalone app designed with safety in mind specifically for kids and families.*

 

We sat down with Alex Norström, Spotify’s Chief Premium Business Officer, to learn a little more about the app. 

1. Why create a Spotify Kids app now? What can users look forward to?

We know that families love listening together—whether it’s while driving in the car or cooking dinner together in the kitchen. But we also know that family members love to listen on their own too. That’s why we’re so excited to welcome the next generation of listeners—kids—into the Family Plan experience. 

Kids consuming audio content, such as music and stories, isn’t a new phenomenon—in fact, they love it. But most audio experiences were built with adults in mind—meaning they’re not simple, easy, or fun for young kids to use. 

Spotify Kids was born out of the desire to create a playground of sound just for kids—to build a place where younger kids can explore their favorite music and stories in a fun environment. The content is ad-free and hand-picked by a team of editors, and the experience is bursting with color. Our visuals help guide young minds through the app with simple navigation and scaled-back text. Before setting out to explore, each kid can also select a custom avatar and color theme to personalize their experience. 

Spotify Kids is a composite of playlists, which makes it easy for kids to find music and stories from their favorite movies and TV shows or hit plays on a playlist to sing along to during their favorite activity—or their least favorite chore.  

We’re thrilled to beta launch in Ireland and look forward to introducing Spotify Kids in all markets that have Premium Family in the coming months. As we evolve the app experience, we’ll roll out enhanced parental settings and controls for even more customization in an effort to give parents peace of mind. 

2. How is the Spotify Kids app different from the original app? Any unique content?

Spotify Kids is a standalone app available exclusively for Premium Family subscribers and intended for kids ages 3+. The content within Kids is hand-picked by a team of editors, who have nearly 100 years of combined experience curating content for kids. They come from some of the most well-respected brands in this space, including Nickelodeon, Disney, Discovery Kids, and Universal Pictures, as well as Public Service in Sweden and BookBeat, which is a family- and kids-oriented audio streaming service.  

Beyond the content, the entire Spotify Kids user experience looks and feels different from the Spotify app. And that’s intentional. It’s built for kids, with their specific cognitive skills in mind, and exudes a fun, familiar, playful, and bright atmosphere. This look and feel also varies by age group—for example, the artwork for younger kids is softer and character-based, while content for older kids is more realistic and detailed. 

3. Why launch in beta? What are you hoping to learn? 

Having a standalone app specifically for younger kids is a new space for Spotify, and we understand the sensitivities around content for children. We are being very deliberate in our launch approach. We’ve started with a beta launch in Ireland, knowing that this initial roll-out phase will yield many learnings from parents, caregivers and other experts as they begin to interact with the app.

As we evolve the Spotify Kids experience over time, we plan to enhance parental control features to allow for even more customization. We’ll also bring our audio expertise to the table with listening experiences that go beyond music—like more stories and audiobooks and eventually podcasts.

4. As you were building the app, did you tap any external resources? Say, consult with any parent organizations or conduct focus groups?

While launching this kids app is an exciting moment for Spotify, creating it was not a task we took lightly. We knew the importance of understanding parents’ needs and making sure they would have peace of mind about the content their kids are consuming. 

Spotify has spent more than two years learning about this space, and we’ll continue to learn as people begin to interact with the app. We have gathered expert insight from a number of organizations, including the National Children’s Museum in Washington, D.C.,  and conducted our own studies with parents around the world and tapped into our Employee Resource Groups here at Spotify.

Spotify Kids is available starting today in Ireland. Ready to get started? Spotify Premium Family master account holders can simply download Kids from the App Store or Google Play, then sign in to their regular Spotify account. (If you’re new to Spotify, you’ll need to sign up for Premium Family before signing in to Spotify Kids.)

For those outside of Ireland, Kids will be rolling out to all markets that currently have Premium Family. Be sure to check back here for more or check out spotify.com/ie/kids.

*Update March 17, 2020: Spotify Kids has also rolled out in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.

Update February 11, 2020: Spotify Kids has also rolled out in the UK and Australia. 

Update November 27, 2019: Spotify Kids has also rolled out in Denmark, Sweden, and New Zealand.

Update May 12, 2020: Spotify Kids has also rolled out in Germany and Japan.