The new feature leverages Spotify Blend to create a new dynamic playlist based on what your buds are listening to
Spotify has been in the news almost every other day recently, from acquiring Heardle — a Wordle-based game involving music — to giving up on Car Thing after spending upwards of $30 million on the project. The company also aims to increase collaborative interactions between Spotify users, as evidenced by last year’s introduction of Blend. And the makers of Spotify have now announced the arrival of a new Friends Mix, harnessing those Blend collaborations to present a larger catalog of dynamic music recommendations based on what your friends are listening to.
Friends Mix operates slightly differently from Blend, though Spotify said it requires the user to have created at least three two-person Blends, on which the new dynamic playlist can be based on. When they meet that requirement, users will find the auto-generated Friends Mix playlist within the Made For You hub — that’s where other dynamically generated playlists like Daily Mix, Discover Weekly, and Release Radar live.
While Spotify says this new feature is available for both free and Premium subscribers worldwide, it only seems to be available for desktop and iOS users, and at least one of us at Android Police that should qualify for it doesn’t currently have it on the desktop client. Notably, Spotify’s press release does not mention Android, so it’s unclear when it will make its way to those devices.
Emphasizing the role of friends and peers in our music taste, the company shared that more than 11 million Spotify playlists contained the word “friend” in them. For those who can access the new Friends Mix playlist, Spotify says it is updated every day, thus keeping the recommendations fresh.
A feature like this almost seems inevitable in hindsight, considering the amount of data Spotify has on its users and the prior Blend feature. Getting auto-curated music recommendations based on your friends’ listening preferences is a novel idea that could increase customer engagement. Though Spotify has a history of deep social integrations (it used to outright require a Facebook account back in the day), it arguably hasn’t fully capitalized on the possibilities that exist inside its own network, though efforts like these might signal a shift. And with premium subscriber numbers rocketing past 188 million in Q2 2022, this new feature could potentially draw more potential customers into the fold. Profitability still remains a concern — if not for the company itself, then for investors — but extra features like this could make a difference.
