What you need to know
- Spotify announces that its Prompted Playlists beta will open for more users in markets like the U.S. and Canada by the end of January.
- Prompted Playlists leverages a user’s description of the type of music they want, taking into account vibes, account history, cultural influences, and more.
- The platform says that the beta may continue to evolve and that a “usage limit” could appear for the sake of the test.
Spotify’s looking at you to tell its software what you’re interested in listening to, which is why Prompted Playlists are headed to more places.
Spotify originally discussed Prompted Playlists in December. The company introduced the feature in beta for New Zealand subscribers; however, today (Jan 22), that’s going to change. In a press release, Spotify confirms that it’s starting to roll out its beta for these unique playlists in more markets for Premium users in the U.S. and Canada “by the end of the month.”
Once this arrives, Premium users can open Spotify > Create > Prompted Playlist. That’s when the platform says your creativity and musical interests begin to shine. Users can describe what they’d like to hear, using vibes and scenarios as fuel for their lyrical, musical interests.
Spotify’s Prompted Playlist will generate its results based on your description. Additionally, if you’re vibing with what you said, you can set that playlist to refresh its contents daily or weekly.
There’s a little more to Prompted Playlists. According to Spotify, once you’ve described what you want, its software will use “real-time information” from the music industry. The platform wants people to think of “trends, charts, culture, and history” when it comes to what makes up the industry.
More than that, Spotify takes into account your listening behavior from the moment your account first opened. This feature will resurface your favorite artists, but it will also turn you toward newer sounds and creators to widen your musical knowledge. Customization extends to users telling Spotify genres it loves and genres it would rather not hear, too.
Spotify says you’re never locked into one avenue with Prompted Playlists. If, at any point, you’re interested in a refresh, Spotify says you can “edit your prompt at any time or start fresh whenever inspiration hits.” The company reiterates that the generated playlist will create a “one-liner” about why it put a particular song in that playlist. However, if your mind’s looking to chill, Spotify has included “Ideas” to help get you going.
More music-lovers are in
When this feature debuts in beta, users may notice a few example prompts on the app’s home screen from music editors and experts.
While this expanded beta isn’t expected to hit the U.S. and Canada until the end of January, Spotify says it’s not closing out user feedback. With this expanded beta, Spotify is continuing its interest in listening to users to improve Prompted Playlists as much as possible before launching it fully. One thing is for certain: some aspects of the feature are bound to change, and Spotify may deploy “usage limits” during this test.
