Tag: playlists

Set the Mood on Valentine’s Day With a Playlist Curated by Michael Bublé, a Blend With Your Soulmate, or the Top-Streamed Love Songs

February 8, 2023

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and chocolates and flowers aren’t the only things that should be top of mind. What music will you have queued up for the drive to dinner? What’s the perfect soundtrack for a little at-home slow dancing? We have some suggestions on how lovebirds can get in on the musical fun together.

We Blend together

When it comes to music, are you and your significant other “two peas in a pod,” or more “opposites attract”? Spotify’s Blend feature can help you celebrate whatever mix-and-match music style you share.

Start by heading over to Your Library, tap the “+,” and hit “Blend.” Then you can invite your friend, lover, or crush to join the fun. Once they accept, you’ll unlock a shared playlist and a personalized taste match score to compare your listening preferences. From “Relationship Rising” to “Off the Charts,” you can share your score (and love) loudly and proudly with friends on social media.

If there’s not a special someone in your life right now, you can still get in on the Blend fun by creating a unique playlist with your favorite artist crush, like BTS, Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, The Chainsmokers, Post Malone, and Charli XCX.

The Newly Rebranded KrOWN Playlist Gives International Fans a Taste of Korean Hip-Hop

August 31, 2022

a graphical image that's a black box with KrOWN written over it in gold.

K-Pop ON! (온) is the Spotify destination for K-Pop fans—but what if you’re looking for the best in Korean hip-hop? Well then, we’d like to introduce you to KrOWN. This editorial playlist is the ultimate place for K-hip-hop listeners around the world and serves as a brand that symbolizes the hottest of South Korea’s hip-hop scene.

This new playlist gives local and international fans of the genre a one-stop destination to listen to the latest music from their favorite and soon-to-be favorite artists. The name is a combination of “KR,” the country code for South Korea, and “Crown/Own,” which refers to the crowned kings and queens who own K-hip-hop worldwide.

KrOWN originally existed as the K-Hip-Hop+82 playlist. Prior to the rebranding, Spotify listeners streamed the playlist more than 20 million times just last year and racked up more than 430,000 followers.

The playlist’s top streaming countries include the United States, Taiwan, Canada, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan—proving that Korean hip-hop truly is a global sensation. In fact, listeners streamed K-hip-hop tracks more than 13.1 billion times on Spotify, with Gen Zs (18- to 24-year-olds) accounting for nearly half of the listenership.

Other Spotify playlists like TrenChill K-Hip Hop, K’illin’, From Bottom to Top, and Jazzy Hip-Hop give fans a taste of the many sounds within Korean hip-hop, and the newly rebranded KrOWN will be the perfect home for the overarching genre.

Check out the newly relaunched KrOWN playlist below.

K-Pop Fans Can Now Blend With Some of Their Favorite Groups on Spotify

May 20, 2022

K-Pop fans, Spotify has a listening experience that will let you connect with your favorite bands in a new way. Through Spotify’s Blend feature, you can sing and dance along to an all-new set of playlists that merge your personal music taste with that of some of the biggest names in K-Pop.

Blend was introduced last year as a new way for two Spotify users to combine their musical preferences into one shared playlist made just for them. Earlier this year, we announced updates that included the chance to Blend with some of your favorite artists.

Now Spotify is expanding the collection of Blend artists to include K-Pop superstars BTS, Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, NMIXX, and AB6IX. When you Blend with these artists, you’ll get a curated playlist that combines your favorite tracks with theirs. You’ll also receive a share card showing your taste-match scores and the songs that bring you two together. The cards can be shared directly to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter so you can show off your matches with other members of the ARMY, Stay, ENGENE, MOA, NSWER, and ABNEW fan bases.

Ready to see what these bands have been listening to lately? Grab your headphones and Blend by following the link for your favorite K-Pop artist below.

Blend with BTS

Blend with NMIXX

Blend with Stray Kids

Blend with TOMORROW X TOGETHER

Blend with ENHYPEN

Blend with AB6IX

Update as of October 19, 2022: BLINKs rejoice: You can now also Blend with BLACKPINK on Spotify. Find a full list of all available Blends here.

How To Celebrate Star Wars Day With Spotify

May 4, 2022

Calling all Jedi masters and young Padawans! You probably don’t need reminding that today is May the Fourth (aka Star Wars Day), but Spotify is here to help you celebrate by taking our Blend feature to a galaxy far, far away. You can now merge your musical taste with that of Yoda, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, or Princess Leia to create a shared playlist full of your favorite songs.

After you Blend with one of these iconic Star Wars heroes (or villain), you’ll receive a share card showing your taste-match scores and the song that brings you two together. You can then share the cards, which also reveal your listening preferences compared to the character, directly to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter.

Three Things To Know About Spotify’s Featured Curators Pilot

April 4, 2022

Spotify’s community is unlike any other. We know that none of our 406 million global listeners stream quite the same way, and we’re always inspired by the creativity, passion, and originality our users bring to the platform each and every day.

One of the biggest ways that listeners bring their individuality to life is through playlist creation. So this month, Spotify is testing a new way to amplify the playlists our listeners create. With the rollout of the Featured Curators pilot, Spotify is testing a new way for listeners to discover music they love with a collection of playlists curated by select Spotify users and influencers.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. It’s inspired by—and made for—fans

The Featured Curators pilot is a limited-time test that promotes popular user and influencer playlists alongside our Spotify playlists. The curators we selected are music lovers with established followings and popular playlists on Spotify, or they’re users telling unique stories through playlists and creating authentic connections with other users.

2. It’s a first

Spotify transformed music discovery through flagship playlists like RapCaviar and personalized playlists like Discover Weekly. Now, we’re experimenting with taking playlist creation and discovery even further. We’re always testing unique and different listening experiences and programs for our fans, and we’re excited to watch this one unfold.

3. It’s a limited pilot

Users in select markets may soon begin to see Featured Curator playlists recommended in-app and on their homepages. As we continue to workshop the program throughout the testing period, we’ll be thoughtful in how we evolve and innovate the experience.

Our goal is always to make Spotify the number one destination for the best listening experience, and with this pilot, we’re giving listeners a new way to discover music from fellow fans who are as engaged as they are.

Discover and Listen to Music With Even More Friends and Family—Plus Some of Your Favorite Artists—With Spotify’s Newest Blend Update

March 30, 2022

Music has been bringing people together for generations, from concert halls to car rides to online communities. Last year, Spotify took group listening a step further and launched Blend, a shared playlist that combines the best of Spotify’s personalization capabilities and collaborative playlist functionality into a single shared playlist, making it easy for users to get into a listening session that is made just for them.

And as of today, Spotify is expanding Blend’s reach with two new updates: The first allows you to Blend with up to 10 people in a group—whether it’s your running club, favorite coworkers, group chat, book club, or chosen family. And the second gives you the chance to Blend with some of your favorite artists.

Two’s a party (and so is 10)

Now that you can Blend with up to 10 friends or family members, you’ll be able to listen to a personalized playlist with your entire group chat.

To blend with a group, just follow a few easy steps:

Create + Invite: Just search “Blend” within the “Search” tab on Spotify. Then, tap “Invite” to select people to Blend with.

Blend: Once your friend has accepted the invite, Spotify will generate your shared Blend playlist, which will include songs and recommendations that reflect everyone’s music preferences and tastes. You’ll even be able to see which songs were added for which friend.
Listen + Share: After everyone has joined the collaborative playlist, you and your friends will receive a custom share card that you can use to spread the word on social media.

Have you ever been curious about your favorite artist’s creative influences? Now, you can find out—and see how yours compare—when you make a Blend with one of 20 music artists that merges tastes into one shared playlist made just for you.

‘A1: The Show’ Brings a New Side of Australian Hip-Hop to Listeners

March 9, 2021

Hip-hop fans in Australia know exactly where to go to get a taste of the latest hits: Spotify’s A1 playlist. A1 has been rapidly growing in listenership and last year saw as many as 227,000 daily streams. The playlist is known for highlighting tracks of both seasoned stars and emerging talent. In fact, RADAR artist The Kid LAROI saw fast-rising success when his debut song “Blessings” first appeared on the playlist.

The demand for this genre shows that hip-hop is no longer a niche sound in Australia, but rather a global trend that has a dominating presence in mainstream music. Building off this demand, Spotify is excited to introduce A1: The Show, which uses our new music and talk feature.

The format will put top tracks from the A1 playlist alongside talk show–like commentary from hosts. Listeners will get to hear the voices of local hip-hop artists, and the content provides new opportunities to expand the conversation around the genre in Australia.

A1: The Show will be hosted by Jade Le Flay, Jazmine Nikitta, and 24 Karat Kev, who are influential members of the Australian hip-hop community. Each episode will feature tracks from the A1 playlist (which is updated weekly) and will showcase both local and international artists. Check out the show below:

How Who We Be, Altar, and Our Generation Are Propelling UK and Irish Artists to the Top

February 8, 2021

Spotify’s editorial playlists are full of musical collections that fans won’t find anywhere else. Some of these playlists follow moods, while others contain songs curated for a specific genre—many of these playlists highlight emerging artists and help them connect their music with new audiences.

In the UK and Ireland, three flagship playlists are particularly influential. Listeners can find the UK’s biggest rap, grime, R&B, Afrobeat, and dancehall hits on Who We Be. Altar is the destination for the best electronic dance music. And for those looking to experience new and emerging genreless sounds, the Our Generation playlist contains some of the most exciting emerging acts on the UK and Irish scenes.

In 2020, many fans discovered new artists through these lists, and the proof is in the numbers. Read on to learn about some of the standout artists who saw success on these playlists last year.

Who We Be

The Who We Be playlist has grown significantly since its launch in 2016, and it now has over half a million fiercely loyal and engaged followers. One of the playlist’s biggest breakthroughs in 2020 was Central Cee. The West London rapper commanded more than 200,000 streams from the Who We Be playlist alone, and he saw almost instant success with his single “Day In The Life.” Since he joined the Who We Be Community, the artist’s followers on Spotify have grown by almost 359%.

S1mba is another rapper who made waves last year with his debut single, “Rover (feat. DTG),” which peaked at number two in the UK Top 40 in April. The Zimbabwean-born Londoner is the 15th-most-streamed artist overall on the playlist, and since “Rover” was released, he has seen a 16,435% rise in listens.

After being featured on Who We Be, Tiana Blake’s “Cut Ties” became the best-performing traditional R&B track from a British artist on the playlist. The track went on to make waves in other global Spotify playlists, such as Chilled R&B, and saw a 159% rise in streams.

Altar

Dance and Electronic music isn’t going anywhere. If you need proof, look no further than the Altar playlist, which saw a 193% increase in listens in 2020. One of the biggest artist breakthroughs of 2020 was award-winning producer Fred Gibson, who released tracks under his alias, Fred again... The artist’s unique sound blends raw vocal samples with club-ready euphoria and has been a hit with the Altar audience; they’ve made him one of the top 20 most-streamed artists on the playlist last year.

TSHA was the third-most-streamed UK female on the playlist in 2020. She saw an increase in year-on-year streams of 134%. TSHA’s single “Change” with Gabrielle Aplin, which was recorded at a Spotify Song Writing Camp in 2019, became one of the top-100-streamed tracks from Altar in 2020.

In May, one of Europe’s most exciting DJs and producers, India Jordan, launched their genre-defining EP For You. Two of the tracks, “For You” and “I’m Waiting,” were featured on the Altar playlist, and over the course of the year, their streams increased by 388%. India was also one of Spotify’s RADAR first listen artists in 2020.

Our Generation

Genreless playlists are growing in popularity around the world, and the case is no different for Our Generation. The playlist, which surfaces the new wave of artists emerging across the UK and Irish musical landscape, saw an 18% increase in streams in 2020. With playlist takeovers from some of the most exciting breakthrough artists on the scene, including beabadoobee, Thomas Headon, and Biig Piig, the home of genre-defying artists has driven huge discovery for fans this year.

Our Generation played an influential role in elevating many artists, including rising star Holly Humberstone, who has grown her audience to over 2 million monthly listeners since her first release, “Deep End,” was added to the playlist in early 2020.

Other acts that saw great first-time success include Tayo Sound, who was busking on the streets of Reading less than a year before making it onto the cover of the Our Generation playlist in May 2020. His hits “Cold Feet” and “Heartbreaker” were two of the most-streamed tracks on the playlist in 2020, and overall his streams soared by more than 1,000% in the last six months.

Kamal, an 18-year-old London alternative R&B star, secured the second-most-streamed track on Our Generation with “homebody” after he was featured on his first Spotify playlist cover art in early 2020. Since then, the artist has seen an 84% growth in listens.

With a new year comes more new music. Follow these playlists to discover the latest finds when it comes to emerging artists and hit tracks.

How to Share Your Favorite Songs with Your Child Through Shared Playlists on the Spotify Kids App

January 11, 2021

Since we first unveiled the Spotfy Kids app in October 2019 for Spotify Premium Family subscribers, young listeners have been able to explore a playground of sound and begin a lifelong love of music through a standalone app designed just for them. We’ve also been listening to parents during this time and have been committed to providing increased customization within the app. We started by giving parents the ability to block individual songs or audio stories in the app as well as giving them access to their kids’ “Listening History.” Now, we’re making it possible for parents to share the music they love—from the songs they grew up playing to the family’s dance party playlist—and further curate their child’s audio experience with Shared Playlists on Spotify Kids.

Being able to share your love of music with your children may feel as essential as teaching them to ride a bike. Shared Playlists—a highly-requested and pin-protected parental settings feature—lets parents share music playlists they’ve created in their Spotify account directly with their child in Spotify Kids, allowing them to further curate their child’s listening experience.

We know that parents often have their own views on which content is and is not appropriate for their kids. The Shared Playlists feature gives parents more control, supplementing the growing library of more than 300,000 kid-friendly tracks and 1,300 playlists on Spotify Kids—all handpicked by our experienced team of editors.

Here’s how to share playlists with your little one using the Spotify Kids app:

Create a playlist of your family’s favorite tunes on the Spotify app (or choose one you made in the past). Make sure to review the lyrics, album cover artwork, and any possible explicit tracks (which will be marked with an ‘E’).
If there are individual songs within the playlist you don’t want to share with your kid, remove them from your playlist in the Spotify app.
Next, head to the parental settings section of the Spotify Kids app and enter your four-digit pin.
Tap the “Shared Playlists” section in your kids’ profile. Then, you’ll be able to see your Spotify playlists and select the ones you want to share with each child.
The first time you do this, a pop-up screen will appear to confirm that you want to share the playlist. After, the child can access the playlist on their homepage from a new “Shared with You” section.

Note that if you update the playlist in the Spotify app, the playlist in Spotify Kids will be automatically updated too. Plus, you can revisit the PIN-protected parental settings on Spotify Kids at any time to remove a playlist, access your child’s listening history, and block or unblock tracks.

Not sure where to begin? Check out some of the top-shared songs in family playlists on Spotify:

Ready to jump into Spotify Kids? Sign up for Spotify Premium Family and then download the app here.

Spotify Amplifies Year-round Celebration of Black History with ‘Phenomenal Black Music’ Campaign

February 19, 2020

Black History is American History. Black History is World History. Black History is Now.

In 2018, Spotify launched Black History Is Now to recognize and celebrate Black creators and culture all year long—not just in February. Over the past two years, the program has seen collaborations with artists Janelle Monáe and Pharrell Williams, as well as distinguished designers Joy Miessi and Brandan “BMike” Odums. In 2020, we’re elevating and evolving Spotify’s mission to focus on the cultural impact that people of color have always played—all through the lens of music.

This year, Black History Is Now presents Phenomenal Black Music—a celebration of the songs and women that have shaped the way music is made, experienced, and replicated across the world. Spotify is inspiring people to discover and celebrate Black music and artists who have defined and continue to define global culture.

Through a series of activations and experiences, we’re looking at Phenomenal Black Music through two lenses: songs that define culture and Black women who have shaped music. As much as there is to applaud regarding the strides Black female artists have made in a traditionally male-dominated industry, there’s still plenty of room for progress.

Here’s how you can celebrate with us this month and all year long:

1. Listen to Spotify’s Black History Is Now hub with curated Phenomenal Black Music playlists. Check out Black History Salute, Black Girl Magic, Black Love Mixtape, and more.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX4ezQVslkJiT?si=qhb2GZNXRaCL16XoScpG7g

2. Wear merch that brings the feelings of Phenomenal Black Music to life from prominent designers Joe Freshgoods—the fashion designer known for his “Don’t Be Mad” clothing line (whose biggest fans include Malia Obama, Chance the Rapper, and SZA)—and Jamilla Okubo, a mixed-media artist whose work has consistent themes that explore the intricacy of belonging to an American, Kenyan, and Trinidadian identity.

Credit: Mark Clennon

3. At the end of February, the Phenomenal Black Music campaign will culminate in a two-day immersive exhibit-style pop-up in New York City celebrating 32 exceptional songs and women. These artists span genres and generations, from Bob Marley and Mary J. Blige to Lil Nas X and Lizzo. The exhibit will feature a look into the music and musicians, with stories curated by music journalist Jewel Wicker, interactive elements curated by Spotify, surprise merch drops, and performances and panels throughout the weekend. As part of the experience, Spotify partnered with Levi’s® to bring product customization to the two-day event. Guests will have a chance to personalize a Levi’s® Trucker jacket, and all visitors will have access to exclusive patches from Joe Freshgoods and Jamilla Okubo. You can find more details here.

Explore the Black History Is Now hub here, and follow the celebration on @Spotify and @SpotifyNews.

These are Spotify’s Top Workout & Wellness Trends – Plus 2020 Predictions to Help Kick-Start Your Resolutions

December 31, 2019

As we enter the New Year—or better yet, new decade—there are endless ways to get on that fitness, wellness, or self-care resolution. Since there are plenty of songs, podcasts, and playlists dedicated to helping people achieve their wellness goals on Spotify, we took a look at how listeners have been using music and podcasts to stay on track. Plus, we made some predictions for what trends the new year will bring.

So, with more than 54 million workout-themed playlists on Spotify, what songs do listeners sweat to the most? Eminem’s “‘Till I Collapse” is the most-streamed track on workout lists at the moment. Ed Sheeran’s “I Don’t Care” with Justin Bieber is second highest, followed by Tones and I’s “Dance Monkey,” “If I Can’t Have You” by Shawn Mendes, and “Beautiful People” by Ed Sheeran and Khalid.

It turns out that our listeners have a particular workout preference—running. Spotify listeners around the world have created more running playlists than any other workout type. Yoga follows in popularity, so you can be sure listeners are staying flexible as well.

We found that people want to learn about wellness from podcasts, too. Listening in the fitness and wellness podcast genre increased 145% in the past year. Plus, listeners are falling asleep—and in love—with sleep podcasts. The most popular podcast in the health and fitness category is Sleepy, where host Otis Gray reads classic stories to help listeners doze off. Is this what sweet dreams are made of?

As for 2020 predictions, we have reason to believe there’s going to be more meditating than ever before. We saw a 113% increase in streams of meditation playlists in the past year, higher than any other workout or wellness type.

Plus, we feel self-love will continue to reign supreme, with pump-up empowerment anthems like Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next,” Lizzo’s “Good as Hell,” and Hailee Steinfeld’s “Love Myself,” popular on self-care playlists. These powerful women are here to say You’ve got this.

Keep up the motivation with even more workout and wellness trends:

Download the infographic here.

Get inspired by our Wellness hub or get your heart racing with Spotify’s most-followed workout playlist, Beast Mode.

How to Make Your Own Podcast Playlists

September 30, 2019

There are more than 3 billion user-generated playlists on Spotify. That means hours upon hours of carefully curated lists of tracks listeners can’t get enough of. Until recently, playlists were exclusive to music. But now, in the true spirit of Audio First, Spotify users can combine music and podcasts on the same playlists.

With this recently released, frequently requested functionality, users can build playlists of podcasts, or add podcasts to existing playlists for a mixed-media experience. Users can also set up a playlist of multiple podcasts in a row—perfect for a long drive or maybe a run—or integrate their favorite songs with news, comedy, or sports podcasts. (Here’s an idea: set up a selection of sunny, feel-good songs for before, after, and in between a bunch of great true crime podcast episodes—you know, to balance yourself out.)

With these new opportunities for creativity, the options are endless. And the best part—it’s as easy as making a playlist full of music.

To add a podcast to a playlist on mobile:

Simply navigate to a podcast episode you love.
Tap the three dots to the right of the track or episode.
Tap “Add to playlist.”
Select a playlist you’ve already created you like to add it to.
Or, tap to create a new playlist from scratch.
Play around with interspersing podcast episodes with music tracks to curate hand-picked listening sessions.
Share with your friends or make your playlists public—others are sure to love them too!

Then, once you’re ready to play hours of queued-up content, head back to “Your Library” to see all your playlists in one place under the “Playlists” tab in Music. Sound familiar? If you’ve ever made a playlist for your favorite songs, you’re already a pro.

**Pro tip: If you’re using Spotify on your computer desktop, you can stream the playlists you’ve made on mobile that include podcasts. You just can’t make a playlist with a podcast in it from your desktop—yet.