Listen to millions of songs for free
Spotify is a free multimedia digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs and podcasts. You can also listen to loads of audiobooks, poetry readings, and your favorite tunes. And with Spotify, you’ll never need to worry about finding something new to listen to. Its discovery algorithm learns your tastes and curates new playlists just for you.
You can also browse user-generated playlists, keep the mood going with genre-based radio stations, and share your custom compilations.
What sets Spotify apart?
Spotify isn’t the only music streaming around, so what makes it so popular?
For starters, it’s free. You can access over 50 million songs and nearly 1 million podcast titles without paying a cent. Plus, they add up to 40,000 new songs daily, which means their song library continually expands. You can also listen to audiobooks, comedy shows, or speeches and play local audio files on your device. It’s available to download and install on nearly any smart device and computer.
Also, because you can pick up from where you left off, it’s easy to listen to your favorite tunes on your computer, then grab your cell phone and switch to your headphones without missing a beat. You can stream non-stop, whether at home or on the go, as long as you have an internet connection.
Discover new music
One of Spotify’s most impressive tools is its discovery algorithm. If you listen to the same bands repeatedly, Spotify makes it easy to find new artists and songs. Each week it’ll present you with a tailored music selection via custom playlists and song recommendations.
You can also listen to the Artist Radio station, which plays similar songs and helps you discover new ones. You can help the algorithm fine-tune its content recommendation by liking and disliking songs. However, this does not only apply to new releases. You’ll receive a great mix of new and old songs, including remixes and live recordings.
While there’s no shortage of music streaming services, Spotify has an incomparable advantage. If music discovery is important to you, Spotify should be your go-to app.
How’s the interface?
The Spotify app interface is easy to use. Thanks to the dark background and light font, it is easy to see. The first aspect you’ll notice is that Spotify automatically sorts music on the home screen into playlists. You can see your recently played songs, most played ones, new podcast episodes, and a large selection of recommended music. The recommended playlist type depends on your listening preferences, which Spotify learns the more you use it. You’ll see different song recommendations if you compare your recommendations to someone else.
You can search for songs by the artist’s name, album name, or song name, and all the results are nicely displayed. When listening to a song, you can easily add it to one of your custom playlists, share it, listen to the song’s radio, view the whole album, view the artist, check the song credits, or even start a sleep timer.
It’s also important to note that you can close your phone and still listen to music, unlike YouTube. You can pause, skip tracks, and adjust the volume while your phone is locked via the lock screen control. Plus, lyrics play while you listen to your songs, so it’s pretty easy to sing along and learn them. You can even share them via third-party platforms.
What do you get with Spotify Premium?
Spotify is a free music streaming service but offers a premium version you can pay for monthly. Premium users can download music to their devices, which is useful if you’re flying or want to save battery. Another perk of Premium is that there are no ads, and you can skip songs unlimited times.
Plans are available for individual users, couples living under one roof, or a family plan allowing up to six Premium accounts.
A feed similar to the video app TikTok
To improve the chances of users finding new content, Spotify is redesigning its core home screen. The design is inspired by short-form video feeds, which have become increasingly popular recently through platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The new features include several improvements that will make it easier for users and subscribers to gain access to content. Its unique features include discovery feeds that scroll vertically, a mode that makes playlist recommendations based on a smart shuffle algorithm, its ability to play podcasts automatically, and more.
Some features will not be available to everyone. For example, Smart Shuffle is only for subscribers, while other features, like the TikTok-inspired feeds, will be available to everyone. You can also listen to music while you scroll through the recommendation feed, and the app will automatically mute it for you. The new podcast feed features a vertical scrolling interface similar to the music feeds. Unless it’s a video podcast, you won’t be able to preview a looping video. Instead, they are given short audio segments from podcast episodes and real-time transcripts. Further, you can scroll through the podcast recommendations vertically with or without audio.
One of the best music streaming apps
Every music streaming service will have some gaps in its catalog. However, Spotify is so comprehensive that you’ll be hard-pressed to find any holes.
And, with its solid user interface and discovery algorithm, you won’t be short of music to listen to any time soon. With the free version, you’ll have access to plenty of songs and features.
If you want to experience the best Spotify has to offer, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium version.
