Spotify has been adding a lot recently, including a lot of new features for its budding audiobook division. But not content at taking on the monolithic Audible and trying to beat it at its own game, Spotify is also strengthening its ability to play songs too.
What else could Spotify possibly do for song playing, though? It can add a little bit of a mixologist into the mix, thanks to its new Smart Reorder feature.
Arrange your playlists for smoother transitions
Smart Reorder isn’t a shakeup of Spotify by any means. It’s very much meant as a supplement to a feature Spotify released last year — seamless song mixing.
Spotify’s mix setting works a bit like a standard crossfade. As one song ends, the next one will start to play over it, creating a more seamless listening experience akin to a mix. Spotify’s mix takes that a step further, using AI to choose a specific way to mix the tracks to ensure a good transition.
Smart Reorder is the next logical step in the process. Accessed when editing a playlist’s order while the Mix setting is on, Smart Reorder automatically reorders your playlist, taking beats per minute (BPM) and key into account in order to create the best possible fade between the two songs. It’s very much meant to mimic what a professional DJ would do with a mix, and it works well enough.
You can try this out with any of your playlists, as long as they’re long enough. Spotify has put together a number of mixes you to sample if you’re curious about how well this can all work together, and you can find it in Spotify’s Mixed By hub.
Spotify has also highlighted some of the most popular transitions across the world:
- “Wake Me Up” (The Weeknd) into “After Hours” (The Weeknd)
- “Low” (Flo Rida) into “S&M” (Rihanna)
- “No Lie” (Sean Paul) into “Adventure of a Lifetime” (Coldplay)
- “Safaera” (Bad Bunny, Jowell & Randy, Ñengo Flow) into “EoO” (Bad Bunny)
- “Femme Fatale” (Mon Laferte) into “Perdón” (Camila)
- “Homecoming” (Lil Uzi Vert) into “20 Min” by (Lil Uzi Vert)
- “Dos Mil 16” (Bad Bunny) into “Vuelve” by (Daddy Yankee & Bad Bunny)
- “euphoria” (Kendrick Lamar) into “TOXIC (with Skepta & Playboi Carti)
And if you’ve heard of any of those songs, then you’re probably younger than me.
This feature, like the seamless transitions before it, is only available to Spotify Premium users.
