Will this new Spotify video feature change the way we listen to albums? Heres what we know so far

Date:
Wed, 07 Feb 2024 15:01:17 +0000

Description:
Selected Spotify users have noticed a feature that allows you to preview albums in order, and it could alter the way we decide to listen to albums.

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In the wake of the Spotify Daylist phenomena and its short-form video features, many Spotify users have spotted another new video feature that lets you quickly preview albums in the Spotify app making the album listening experience less time consuming.

The new feature is a short-form video feed which allows you to vertically scroll through an album in chronological order. It can be found on an artists profile page and also the vast majority of albums on Spotify, located under the album cover and next to the download icon and three-dot menu. Spotify's preview feature in an album (Image credit: Future)

As well as a looped Canvas visual, a 30-second snippet of each song will play to accompany the video, displaying up to three hashtags that contextualize each songs vibe and genre. The feature seems to be designed to condense album listening into a quick and snappy experience with more short-form video elements coming to the app. Tell us youre trying to be TikTok without telling us, Spotify.

While we wait for Spotify to get back to us with an official announcement,
the feature has been cropping up in the app for many users (including us). According to a post in the r/truespotify Reddit forum , it seems that the preview feature (below) is out for testing on selected Spotify accounts. (Image credit: Future)

The feature experience may vary for some users, and weve noticed it appearing in different forms for us at TechRadar. While some might have full access to the feature when viewing albums, singles, and artist profiles, others are
only able to access it in the latter.

At the moment, we dont know which regions its being tested in, the operating systems its compatible with, or when it will be widely rolled out, but we'll update this story when we hear back from Spotify. (Image credit: Future) Analysis: The album's swansong?

I first noticed the feature a few days ago and thought it was just another step in the TikTokification of Spotify , but experimenting with it has opened my eyes to its benefits and potential pitfalls.

Theres no doubt that the preview feature can save you a shedload of time when listening to an album. Particularly in the age of streaming, its easy to fall into the trap of skipping to the middle of a song to sample an artists music before fully committing to a thorough listening session.

Therefore, if youre not a fan of sitting through an entire body of work then you could use the feature to compress your total listening time and help you to quickly determine if youre going to like an album or not. (Image credit: Future)

While the feature could be great for its convenience, fans of traditional albums might be less keen. I'm an avid music fan who loves to listen to full-length albums in their entirety, so hopefully this doesn't become Spotify's default listening experience.

After all, 30 seconds isnt a lot of time to see a songs full potential and
the preview feature doesnt allow you to experience the segues between songs
in an album. It could take us further into a worrying territory where it becomes common to quickly dismiss music after a short first-time listen.

Still, I'm certainly not writing off the feature and, while it's frustrating to see Spotify bring more TikTok elements to the app instead of improving audio quality, its another niche addition that has the potential to please a lot of Spotify fans. You might also like The best thing about Spotify's Daylist feature isn't the music, it's the unhinged titles After 15 years, Im ditching Spotify for Tidal in 2024 heres why you should too The 15 best Spotify tips and tricks how to master the streaming service



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/audio-streaming/will-this-new-spotify-video-fe ature-change-the-way-we-listen-to-albums-heres-what-we-know-so-far


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