What you need to know
- Spotify’s adding to its newest features this week by announcing an “About the Song” beta.
- “About the Song” provides little stories for users that detail the artist’s mindset and inspirations behind the title they’re listening to.
- This feature is rolling out in beta for Premium users in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.
Spotify’s not done yet this week, as it announces one more beta that’s starting to arrive for music-lovers who enjoy a lore deep-dive.
Spotify announced its newest beta, “About the Song,” in a press release before providing greater detail in a recent blog post. According to the company, this new feature will bring “stories and context directly into your listening experience.” You might’ve guessed that these little stories are headed for the Now Playing view when listening to music.
Spotify states that these lore drops are “summarized” from third-party sources to give listeners a general sense of the song’s intent and inspiration.
As this beta arrives, users can scroll down in their Now Playing view to the “About the Song” portion for supported songs. Users can swipe through these story cards to learn more about what helped the artist through the song’s creation and the meaning behind the lyrics.
This test is stated to be rolling out for Android and iOS users in English with a Premium subscription. Those in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia will see it soon.
The record keeps turning
Spotify’s had a busy week, rolling out updates to its offline experience that lets users take their lyrics with them. Downloading songs for offline listening will now include the title’s lyrics, so you can still enjoy your sing-alongs. More than that, Spotify’s rolling out lyric translations for users globally. “Previews” for lyrics are also appearing in the Now Playing view beneath the title’s album.
Just yesterday (Feb 5), Spotify announced “Page Match,” a feature that lets users scan their reading placement in a physical book to sync their audiobook. What’s more, that update saw the platform partnering with Bookshop.org, an organization that connects consumers with local bookstores to purchase physical titles. Now, through Spotify, users can purchase physical books, which will contribute to local shops.
Android Central’s Take
Spotify’s just been adding little things here and there for the past little while. It’s refreshing to see, as it’s small additions that make up a whole pie. It feels like the platform is truly trying to become that place where music-lovers can visit to enjoy their time and to fully immerse themselves in what they enjoy. But it goes beyond that; there’s translations, book purchases, and offline lyrics. These “About the Song” stories are the latest addition, which I feel is a take it or leave it, but die-hard fans might enjoy diving in. Plus, if you have ambitions of becoming a music artist, this is fuel to your fire.
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