Spotify Takes On Music Discovery

NEW YORK (Hypebot) — At a press event in London today, Spotify announced some major upgrades that take aim at what many users see as the music streamer's greatest weaknesses – music discovery and personal collection creation. The major new features include:

Follow Tab: music recommendations from trusted musical influences: friends, artists, influencers and media. The Follow tab also shows Facebook friends and recommendations.

Discover Tab & Page: Combining social tools with content from Pitchfork, Songkick,Tunigo and more, Spotify’s Discover feed continually seeks out the most relevant content based on listening habits and delivers it to a page that includes:

New single and album releases from the artists followed

All the music and playlists shared by influencers followed

Recommendations based on listening history including music, reviews, and concerts

Additonal new features and upgrades:

Audio Preview – Dip into new music without moving away from the song playing. Save it for later or start playing right away.

The Collection – Save music, not just in playlists, but in collections. Click the ‘add’ symbol and it will be added to your collection.

Mobile push notifications for new album releases – When new music from artists followed hits Spotify, users receive a mobile alert.

A more curated social feed

Redesigned Artist pages.

Spotify's Follow features will roll out as part of a desktop app update in the coming weeks, with a full cross-platform upgrade arriving next year.