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If you love that you can recognize hundreds of songs within a few opening bars, you’re not alone. Passion for music runs deep—and so does showing off those skills in musical trivia. Millions do just that with Heardle, a daily music game. And at Spotify, we love all things music—and all things music trivia—which is why we’re excited to announce that the beloved interactive music trivia game will be joining Spotify.
We see Heardle as more than a trivia game: It’s also a tool for musical discovery. Playing Heardle might just help you to rediscover old tracks you may have thought you’d forgotten, discover amazing new artists, or finally put a title to that wordless melody you’ve had caught in your head forever.
Heardle is a simple but endlessly challenging game. Players are tasked with guessing a song based on its opening notes. They get six guesses, with each hint giving a few more seconds of music to inform their next answer. Ultimately, they get a chance to discover the song in its entirety, whether or not they guessed it correctly.
“We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans,” commented Jeremy Erlich, Global Head of Music, Spotify. “Heardle has proven to be a really fun way to connect millions of fans with songs they know and love and with new songs . . . and a way to compete with their friends as to who has the best musical knowledge. Since its debut, the game has quickly built a loyal following, and it aligns with our plans to deepen interactivity across the Spotify ecosystem.”
For existing Heardle players, the look and feel of the game will stay the same, and it’ll remain free to play for everyone. And effective today, players can listen to the full song on Spotify at the end of the game.
Looking ahead, there are some exciting opportunities to come. Today, we’re starting with users in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. And soon, hundreds of millions more people around the world will have the opportunity to play and enjoy the game in their native language. Further down the road, we are also planning to integrate Heardle and other interactive experiences more fully into Spotify to allow music lovers to connect more deeply with artists and challenge friends—and have some fun in the process.
Today, Spotify announced our fourth quarter 2021 financial performance. Click here to review the full earnings release, and take a look at the highlights below:
Interested in hearing more? You can listen to the webcast Q&A on the IR site here.
Click below to check out a sizzle reel of audio trailers from a few of our recent original and exclusive podcasts.
In an all-around unforgettable year, 2021 was an especially notable one for Spotify. We’re excited about what we’ve delivered for creators and listeners alike across new features, innovations, and collaborations. As the year comes to a close, we are taking a moment to look back on some of the advances we’ve made over the past 365 days.
More listeners in more places
We have more listeners than ever. As we announced in our Q3 2021 earnings, as of September 2021, Spotify had increased the number of monthly active users and subscribers on the platform by 19% compared to 2020*. This year, we also doubled our global footprint by expanding into 92 new markets, bringing our total to 184 markets globally. New countries on our roster include South Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and many more across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America. This continued expansion means that the music and voices of more people, places, and cultures can be shared with listeners around the world.
Podcasting for all
At Spotify, we believe that podcasting provides a massive opportunity for creators to entertain, inspire, and inform people across the globe. According to Edison Research and our own internal data, we recently surpassed both Apple and YouTube in the U.S.—the largest podcast market globally—to become the number one podcast platform listeners say they use the most.
The appetite for podcasts has grown among listeners, and we are answering that demand with a catalog that includes 3.2 million titles*. That’s 68% more podcasts (as of September 2021) than were on the platform in 2020. Through November of this year, we launched over 400 new O&E podcasts globally, and throughout the year we signed numerous podcast deals and entered into podcast partnerships with some of the world’s biggest creators and beloved entertainment brands like Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, The Joe Rogan Experience (the number one podcast in the world), and Bad Robot. But our passion for podcasts isn’t limited to the U.S. This year, we expanded podcasts into more than 80 markets, including Russia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Expanding the possibilities for advertising
When we reported earnings in October, we announced that ad revenue had increased 75% year over year. And in November, we surpassed 1 billion euro in annual ad revenue for the first time. New opportunities were created for advertisers with the launch of the Spotify Audience Network, our first-of-its-kind audio advertising marketplace that enables advertisers to connect with listeners enjoying a broad range of music and podcast content. Advertisers now have a way to reach and target audiences listening to Spotify Original & Exclusive podcasts, as well as third-party podcasts from enterprise publishers via Megaphone and Anchor creators. We’ve also introduced podcast ad buying to Spotify Ad Studio, our self-serve ad channel that makes it easy for advertisers of all sizes to reach podcast listeners.
Supporting both established and breakthrough artists
With over 380 million listeners on the platform, there’s a large audience for artists to share their new releases with. The increase in subscribers has led to many major artists, like Drake and Adele, across various genres breaking Spotify records throughout the year.
Spotify has also continued efforts to support up-and-coming artists. We expanded our exclusive offerings with Spotify Singles (including Pride, BNA, Latinx Heritage Month, Are & Be, mint, and Holiday programs) and Spotify x Electric Lady live EPs. We’re supporting artists at all levels through programs like Fresh Finds (for independent artists), RADAR (for global emerging artists), EQUAL (which fosters equity for women in music globally) and Billions Club.
But those aren’t the only ways we are pushing the industry when it comes to artists. We also launched Loud & Clear to increase transparency by sharing new data on the global streaming economy. And we expanded our Charts feature to include artist, genre, and local charts. This allows artists and listeners to dive even deeper into the data.
Inspiring and enabling creation
In order to be the best audio network, we know we need to provide the best-in-class experience and content for our listeners. This means new features and new opportunities for creators to connect with their fans. We launched Spotify Greenroom, adding live audio as part of Spotify’s ecosystem and providing yet another opportunity for creators of all types to connect with their fans more deeply and meaningfully. In November we announced the acquisition of Findaway, the global leader in digital audiobook distribution, to accelerate our presence in the audiobook space. We also introduced Spotify Open Access, which allows listeners to hear third-party content on Spotify. Finally, we partnered with beloved brands like Peloton, Netflix, and Delta to bring exclusive experiences and curated playlists to our listeners.
Let’s say it plain and simple: It’s easier to jam out to your latest favorite song when you know the words. That’s why, beginning today, Spotify is empowering millions of fans around the world to sing louder and more confidently than ever with the launch of Lyrics.
Lyrics are one of the most requested features from listeners across the globe. So after iterating and testing, we’ve created an experience that’s simple and interactive—and even shareable. By partnering with Musixmatch, we’re bringing song lyrics to life through in-app access across the majority of our extensive library of tracks.
As of today, Lyrics are available to all Free and Premium users globally across iOS and Android devices, desktop, gaming consoles,* and TV, so that millions of fans can connect with the music and artists they love on an even deeper level.
Ready to sing along? Here’s how to find Lyrics.
On the Spotify mobile app
Tap on the “Now Playing View” on a song.
While listening, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
You’ll see track lyrics that scroll in real time as the song is playing!
To share, simply tap the “Share” button at the bottom of the lyrics screen and then select the lyrics you want to share—and where you want to share it—via third-party platforms.
On the Spotify desktop app
From the “Now Playing” bar, click on the microphone icon while a song is playing.
Voila! You’ll see track lyrics that scroll in real time while the song plays.
On the SpotifyTV app
Open the “Now Playing View” on a song.
Navigate to the right corner to the “lyrics button” and select if you want to enable Lyrics.
Once enabled, you’ll see the lyrics in the “Now Playing” View.
Music has the power to bring people together, and with the Lyrics social sharing functionality, you can express yourself on social media and encourage your friends to sing along with you. Plus, with access to a world of lyrics, you’ll be able to cultivate an even deeper connection to the music and artists you love, diving into the deeper meanings behind each song.
This new Lyrics feature is an example of two things we hold dear: creating the best possible listening experience, and listening to feedback from our users. So stay tuned, as there’s more to come—this song is still being written.
*The Lyrics feature will be available across Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and XBox One, along with Android TV, including FireTV, Samsung, Roku, LG, Sky, and Comcast.
There’s a lot of great music and podcasts on Spotify. Like a lot. We are talking about over 70 million tracks and more than 2.6 million podcast titles. Having that many songs and episodes at your fingertips is great. Knowing how to find it? Even better.
Using the search functionality on Spotify can help you find exactly what you’re looking for quickly and efficiently. So to help you become the master of search, we’ve rounded up a few tips and tricks to employ.
Filters on mobile: Categorizing with ease
Just last week, Spotify began rolling out Filters while using search on mobile devices. These filters are designed to help you find information faster and more easily, and allow you to categorize your results by artists, songs, playlists, albums, and more. By clicking on the appropriate tab, you can discover the exact type of music or podcast you’re looking for. For example, if you type in “The Office,” you can filter your results by “Podcast & shows,” where you’ll find content like An Oral History of The Office.
Lyrics search: No need to name that tune
Ready to hear that song you can’t stop singing, but can’t remember the actual name of the song? With Lyrics search, we have you covered. Gone are the days where you need to type the words into a web search engine. Maybe “I’ve been hiding for so long” is stuck in your head. Just start typing the lyrics into the search bar and Spotify will populate the songs that contain the same phrase, which, in this case, is girl in red’s “girls.”
Using “Hey Spotify” for voice search: Footloose and hands-free
For users in the U.S., take a try at going hands-free by using your voice to search. First, to enable a hands-free voice experience, just tap on the microphone or say “Hey Spotify” when you’re in the Spotify app. Using voice search will allow you to get to your content faster. Next time you’re in the car or busy in the kitchen, give the functionality a go by saying “Hey Spotify, play Discover Weekly” or “Hey Spotify, play ’90s R&B.” You can even play content specific to your account, like “Hey Spotify, play my Liked Songs.”
Now that you’re well versed on the search functionality, it’s time to put that knowledge to use and crank up the tunes or find your next podcast binge.
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