Apps & Consumer
Spotify's Playlist Notes let users explain their song picks
Spotify launched Playlist Notes, letting listeners and editors add context to the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks in their playlists, building on last month's User Notes feature.
Spotify announced Monday the launch of “Playlist Notes,” a new feature that lets listeners add their thoughts to the playlists they make. The feature builds on “User Notes,” which the streaming giant debuted last month, allowing people to add personal notes to individual tracks. With Playlist Notes, users can add context to songs, podcast episodes, and audiobooks in their playlists — maybe a song reminds them of someone, brings back a specific memory, or is simply a track they think everyone should hear.
To add a note, users go to the mobile app, open a playlist they own or collaborate on, tap the three dots next to a track, podcast episode, or audiobook, choose “add note,” and save it; anyone who can view the playlist can see the note.
Spotify is also bringing the idea to its own editorial playlists, where editors can now add notes explaining why they picked certain songs. To start, listeners will see the feature on some of Spotify’s biggest playlists, including Today’s Top Hits, RapCaviar, Hot Country, All New Pop, and Fresh Finds Hip-Hop. There’s also a new profile feature for those editors: Editor Profiles show an editor’s top tracks and albums, along with the playlists they work on, giving listeners more insight into the people behind Spotify’s curated recommendations.
User-created notes are rolling out on iOS and Android in more than 100 markets. Editor notes and profiles are rolling out to free and premium users ages 16 and older in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
While arguably a small feature, it fits into Spotify’s bigger push to make the app feel more social and personal, giving users a chance to explain the stories and reasoning behind their favorite music. It also gives Spotify another way to stand out from rivals Apple Music and YouTube Music. The company recently reported its Q2 earnings, touting that it surpassed 300 million subscribers for the first time and reached 777 million monthly active users.
Why it matters
Adding personal and editorial commentary to playlists is a low-cost way for Spotify to layer social and curatorial identity onto a catalog it doesn’t own, differentiating it from rivals competing largely on the same music library.