Spotify’s recent Launch of podcast commenting featureSpotify has taken another step in building a social networking experience into an app known primarily for music. The comments feature now allows podcasters to interact with listeners directly within Spotify, just like they would with other interactive apps. Surveys, Q&A and other featuresA 2023 app relaunch will add a TikTok-like discovery feed, artist profiles where creators can promote merchandise and concert tickets, and more. Also includes the ability to post to storiesSpotify’s app is no longer just a music streaming app, but is quickly becoming a social network centered around all things audio.
This week, Spotify added support for comments to podcast episode pages – a real social networking feature. The next question is whether Spotify will add a similar feature for music artists in the future. Since musicians’ fan bases tend to be larger and more engaged than most podcast fan bases, this could be an even more attractive addition to the app.
When I was talking with Maya Prohovnik, VP of Podcast Product at Spotify, about the launch of the comments feature, I asked her if they would also add commenting support to artist pages.
Prokhovnik did not outright deny that such ideas were being considered and initially refrained from commenting, but then added: [support for comments] “While we’re exploring moving Spotify to other formats, we always want to do what’s right for that format and that type of creator or artist.”
It’s worth noting that the idea of building a social network within a music app has been tried before by Spotify’s biggest rival, Apple.
In 2010, Steve Jobs Ping, iTunes’ new social network It was described as “Facebook meets Twitter meets iTunes” and called “the social network for music.” Jobs was clearly onto something, but Ping was not a success during the Apple founder’s lifetime. Shortly after Jobs’ death, Apple Ping closed down in 2012It was a rare failure for an iPhone manufacturer. Connect, a social feature for musicians Which It didn’t last long.
Even now, Apple has embraced social networking semi-enthusiastically with its Apple Music streaming service, offering an optional feature that periodically checks your on-device contacts to recommend new friends to follow. You know what you’re listening to.
But unlike Apple, Spotify has never made the bold declaration that it would build an audio-focused social network.
Instead, the company has been quietly and slowly rolling out a series of features that make the app more social for creators and fans alike. In a redesign last year, for example, Spotify added in-app video feeds across its home page, including tabs for music, podcasts, and audiobooks. While the design of these feeds has been tweaked since launch, the move signaled that Spotify is learning from TikTok, Gen Z’s favorite social network, when designing its own products.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek spoke about TikTok’s impact during the company’s first-quarter 2024 earnings call, telling investors that TikTok and other services have “improved the user experience” and that the industry is “learning from these trends and working to improve our products.”
“We’re no different than any other company in that we try to learn from the market,” Ek said, suggesting the app was inspired by TikTok. “We learn what consumers like, and we try to improve on that and provide the best user experience possible.”
Over the past year, the company has also added a new way for artists to reach their fans through its Spotify Clips feature, which works similarly to Stories on other social networks, allowing artists to add 30-second videos to their profile and album pages.
Artists can also get their fans excited about new releases. Countdown PageFans can hear from their favorite artists through the company’s video messaging services. Spotify’s annual Wrapped campaignMeanwhile, Spotify users can follow creators and friends on the platform to stay up to date on the latest music and events, as well as see what their friends are streaming. Many ways, Including real timeThe company They’ve been spotted testing it before A community feature that allows users to watch other users’ streams in real time.
With the addition of comments, Spotify envisions an app where users can go beyond just playing audio and putting their phone back in their pocket, to actively participate and share their thoughts, feelings and opinions, just like a traditional social network.
Combined, these features are starting to give rise to apps that go beyond mere music streamers and aim to compete for users’ time, and ultimately advertising dollars, spent on larger social networks.
