Tag: group session

Spotify Unveils Jam, a New, Personalized Way to Listen With Your Entire Squad

September 26, 2023

There are few things more powerful than connecting over a shared love of music. So over the past few years, Spotify has unveiled a wide range of new features, including Collaborative Playlists and Blend, that make sharing the music you love easier than ever. And fans love them: they’ve already created more than 45 million Blends. And in the past month alone, they’ve cumulatively spent over 200 million hours listening to the Collaborative Playlists they’ve created alongside those closest to them. 

Today we’re introducing Jam, a personalized, real-time listening session for your group to tune into together. Jam builds on some of our popular social features and combines them with our personalization technology to take real-time listening with pals to the next level. With Jam, Premium subscribers will be able to invite others to contribute through a shared queue and enjoy a musical experience made exclusively for everyone listening. 

How Jam works

Jam is rolling out for all Spotify users globally starting today—so make sure your app is up-to-date. Premium listeners everywhere can start a Jam and anyone on Spotify can join. Simply invite your squad and Jam will help you find the perfect songs to add to the queue, finding the overlaps in your listening preferences to deliver music recommendations that everyone will love. You’ll have the ability to see who’s added which track so you know whom to thank for that crowd pleaser, whether you’re prepping food together in the kitchen or enjoying games in the backyard.  

Once you start a Jam, you can invite a group of friends or family—Free or Premium users, or a mix—so they can share the experience. Premium listeners can join from wherever they are, whether they’re in the same room or across the world. 

To get grooving, select a playlist or song you’re feeling excited about. You’ll see a “Start a Jam” button by clicking the speaker icon at the bottom of your screen or by hitting the three dot menu within your favorite playlist or song. You can also select a device to play on, whether that’s your phone or speaker. Those in your household on your shared Wi-Fi will also be prompted to join the Jam when they open Spotify. 

You can then invite your squad in one of three ways:

  1. Turn on Bluetooth, then tap your phones together
  2. Have your friends scan the QR code on your host screen
  3. Hit “share” to send the link through social, text, SMS, and more

Everyone in the Jam can add songs to the queue, see who added which song, and receive recommendations, all from their own devices. The host also has the ability to determine who’s in the Jam, change the order of the tracks, or remove a song that doesn’t fit the vibe. 

Get ready for a deeper way to connect through the artists, songs, and albums that unite you—and to discover some unexpected gems with those around you.

*Update as of March 13, 2024: Jam is now available on Desktop, making listening together easier than ever. To start a Jam from Desktop:

  • Tap the three-dot menu, or right click on a playlist or song
  • Select start a Jam
  • Invite your friends through a share link or QR code to listen together, wherever you are, on desktop and mobile.

How To Make a Collaborative Playlist

September 29, 2020

Over the past six months, music and podcasts have brought people together like never before—especially when it comes to playlist collaborations. That’s why starting today, we’re giving our Collaborative Playlist feature an upgrade, so users around the world can continue feeling close to their friends and loved ones through the power of music and podcasts, even from afar.  

Collaborative playlists are a great way to swap podcast recommendations, share your latest music discoveries, and build the perfect playlist—together. Look out for four fresh new updates, including a new Add User button in the playlist header (to easily invite others to contribute); a list displaying user avatars in the playlist header (to see who else is contributing); and finally, new user avatars in front of each track or episode (to see exactly who contributed what, and perhaps make fun of their questionable choices).

Getting started is easy, whether you’re creating from scratch or inviting friends to weigh in on an existing playlist.

  1. On your phone or tablet, tap Your Library.
  2. Go to Playlists, and select the one you want to collaborate on (keep in mind you can only do this for playlists you’ve created)
  3. Tap the Add user button in the header to make the playlist collaborative
  4. Start inviting others to add songs and podcast episodes on social media, messaging apps, or simply by copying and pasting the link

 

Now that your masterpiece is created, try listening together in real time with Spotify’s Group Session beta feature. Now that’s teamwork.

The Trends Shaping 2020 Summer Streaming

August 13, 2020

After a spring full of tie-dying, gardening, DIY haircutting, quilting, and baking, people headed outdoors to soak up the summer sun. While this year looks a little different from most summers, people are still turning to classic summer pastimes like road tripping, camping, and even roller skating to keep themselves busy. 

We took a look at summer streaming trends to find out which songs are spiking and how listeners are creating playlists to match their moods and activities. Check out what we found below.

You spin me ’round

Between May 5 and July 30, more than 54,000 playlists dedicated to cycling, roller skating, and rollerblading were created globally on Spotify. But they aren’t just popular hobbies, they’re also a great way to squeeze in some exercise and—most importantly—they’re wheelie fun.

The top songs for cycling-themed playlists include “Kolors” by Monte Booker, Smino, “Roses – Imanbek Remix” by Imanbek, SAINt JHN, and “Savage Love” by Jason Derulo and Jawsh 685. Meanwhile “Say So” by Doja Cat feat. Nicki Minaj, “The Less I Know The Better” by Tame Impala, and “Jenny from the Block” by Jennifer Lopez feat. Jadakiss & Styles P. are trendy roller skating and rollerblading picks. 

On the road again

We believe there are only two requirements for a road trip: a vehicle and a good playlist. Listeners seem to agree. Between June and July, there was a 92% increase in the creation of road trip playlists on Spotify.

Popular songs include “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles, “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles, and “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. Roll-down-the-window-and-belt-it-out jams are also making the cut. Top among them are “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi, “Hey Ya!” by OutKast, and, appropriately, “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts. 

Podcasts including Stuff You Should Know, Crime Junkie, My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, and Ted Talks Daily are also common playlist additions for listeners hitting the wide open road.

If DIY playlists aren’t your thing, or you just need some inspiration, check out the Spotify-curated playlists Classic Road Trip Songs and 70s Road Trip.

No place like home

Warmer weather hasn’t drawn everyone outside. In fact, there are now more than 1.3 million quarantine-themed playlists on Spotify. Between May 5 and July 30, popular tracks for these playlists included “Stuck With U” by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, “Bored In The House” by Tyga and Curtis Roach, “Be Kind (with Halsey)” by Halsey and Marshmello, and “Lockdown” by Anderson Paak. Another popular choice fresh off Taylor Swift’s new album, folklore, is “exile” with Bon Iver. And we can’t forget to mention those spending the summer solo, who may have been responsible for the spike in Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” being added to playlists.

There are also a number of listeners who are turning their summer vacations into staycations. From June to July, there’s been a 120% uptick in the creation of staycation-themed playlists. These homebodies are capturing the feel-good vibes with songs including “Summer Clothes” by Marc Scibilia, “Island In The Sun” by Weezer, “Summertime Magic” by Childish Gambino, “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys, “The Boys Of Summer” by Don Henly, “Paradise” by Bazzi, “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley & The Wailers, “Take Me Home” by Bryce Vine, and “Señorita” by Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes.

Hello muddah, hello faddah

Listeners have been heading to the great outdoors in search of fresh air. Naturally, they’ve also been creating playlists to accompany them on their hiking, star-gazing, and marshmallow-roasting adventures. From June to July, there was a whopping 140% increase in camping-themed playlists created on Spotify. 

Top songs for these playlists include “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, “Fishin’ in the Dark” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I. The elements are clearly on the mind of campers, with hits like ACDC’s “Thunderstruck,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” and Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande’s “Rain On Me” appearing on many of their playlists.

Bored in the house

While many summer activities are on hold, some listeners are feeling a little restless. Between May 5 and July 30 more than 127,000 playlists were created with “bored” or “boredom” in the title. Top songs keeping the boredom at bay include “I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber, “when the party’s over” by Billie Eilish, “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco, and “The Less I Know The Better” by Tame Impala.

Happy together

If music sets the mood, then July was the happiest month of 2020 . . . so far. During that time, listeners streamed more upbeat tracks than previous months of this year. On the flip side, April was the month when listeners played “sadder” or more downtempo tracks the most. So you can say the sunshine and fresh air is doing us all a world of good.

Streaming with friends

Even though social distancing guidelines are still in place in many parts of the world, you can still make summer memories with friends and loved ones. Spotify is helping bring people together with Group Session, a new feature that allows groups of Premium listeners to tune in to the same playlist or podcast simultaneously. Now you and all your BFFs can BBQ in your own backyards—all while jamming out to the same tunes.

 Whether you’re staying home or heading out for some socially distant fun, you can create a playlist to match your summer vibe. Just open up Spotify to begin or check out our refresher here.

Your Squad Can Now Stream Simultaneously Using Spotify’s Group Session Beta

July 28, 2020

There’s nothing like enjoying your favorite playlist or podcast with friends and loved ones. That’s why Spotify launched the first beta version of Group Session back in May. At launch, this evolving feature allowed groups of Premium users to share control of their listening sessions with others in real time. It even offered shared opportunities for collaboration among all the listeners. And we didn’t stop there.

In our latest innovation, we’re taking Group Session one step further with brand-new functionality that allows Spotify Premium users around the world to tune into the same playlist or podcast simultaneously. So no matter the distance—whether six feet apart or a thousand miles away—you and the members of your squad can now each listen to the same content at the same time on your own devices (as well as control playback). Groups of two to five people can use this feature at once by sharing a “join” link via messaging apps or social media with each other.

Need some inspiration for your remote listening party? Try . . .

  • Hosting a virtual Country Cookout with your mom in Chicago and your brother in San Antonio. Jam out in real time from each of your backyards while cooking up a storm. And if Mom’s getting carried away with the oldies, you can always change the track.
  • Setting up a Wind of Change podcast date for you and your long-distance boo. Nothing says romance like some light international espionage.
  • Coordinating a morning-noon-night group jog with friends in LA, New York, and London, and keeping the same pace across time zones with a Power Run playlist.

Ready to get started? Click or tap the Connect menu in the bottom-left corner of the play screen and scroll down to “Start a group session.” Then, share the invite link with your guests or have them scan the Spotify code to join the session.

From there, both host and guests can pause, play, skip, and select tracks on the queue as well as add in choices of their own using the standard controls. If one person makes a change, it will immediately be reflected on all participant devices. Talk about squad goals.

Since Group Session is currently still in beta, you can expect the experience to continue to evolve over time. For now, get started with your first Group Session.