How did you feel about your last Spotify Wrapped? If you didn't like what it had to say, the best way to make sure it is varied and interesting is to take control of your listening habits now. End-of-year you will thank you for it.
There are plenty of ways to use the streaming music service to discover new songs and find your next favorite artist or genre. Spotify places a big emphasis on discovery, but the app itself can sometimes feel overwhelming, so we’ll walk through a few ways to expand your library. This guide focuses on the mobile app, but the same functionality is present on the desktop app, too.
1. Music Feed: Scroll Through Playlists
Spotify's new scrollable feeds allows you to scroll through songs like you would on TikTok. Just tap the Music tab for personalized recommendations on singles, albums, and playlists based directly on your listening habits. It's a great discovery method that allows you to preview music alongside visual elements to really grab your attention.
Playlists that support the scrollable feature will have a banner above the first song that says Explore this playlist; tap it to begin scrolling through the list. If you find something you like, just tap the + icon in the right corner of the card to add it to your library.
2. Spotify DJ: Let AI Do the Work
Radio listening is a tried and true discovery method, but listening to FM radio can be a dud. Spotify introduced a new artificial intelligence DJ that offers up new and favorite tunes without any effort on your part. Not only are the results personalized, but the voice and complete throw-back experience to terrestrial radio is oddly satisfying.
The best part is that you don't have to do much to get started here. The DJ feature is available for all Premium subscribers on the iOS and Android app. Just make sure Spotify is up-to-date, so you can find the DJ feature under the Music feed. Once you tap play, the DJ card will also show up in the Recently Played section.
3. Smart Shuffle: Mix New Songs into Your Playlists
Too timid about trying new music? Spotify’s new Smart Shuffle is a perfect solution to add new music into your life by adding new tracks into existing playlists you have already made. Smart Shuffle tries to match the style of the songs in your playlist so the new jams aren't too jarring.
To engage Smart Shuffle on a mobile device, open a playlist in your library and tap the Shuffle icon. Spotify will ask whether you want to use the standard shuffle feature, which mixes your saved songs, or Smart Shuffle, which will add new tracks daily.
While Smart Shuffle is not officially available in the desktop app, there is an Enhance button on playlists that performs a similar function.
4. Release Radar: Check Out Spotify's Recommendations
If you'd like to kick things off in familiar territory, check out the automatically generated Release Radar playlist, which is made up of artists already in your Spotify library. It's updated each Friday and as you add more music to your library, the number of songs in Release Radar expands too.
Find your Release Radar playlist on the Home tab of the app, under the Made For [your name] section. It should move closer to the top each week, but you can also favorite it so it shows up under Library as well. If you're using the web player, Release Radar can be found under Search. Click the Made For You square and scroll to the bottom of the page.
5. Made for You: Listen to Old Favorites and Similar Music
For new music based on your listening history, navigate to Search > Made for You, which features customized mixes based on genre, artists, decades, mood, and more.
To revisit old favorites, look for Uniquely Yours, which features playlists like Your Summer Rewind and Time Capsule. The latter surfaces tunes that were probably on repeat in your boom box, CD player, or iPod decades ago.
There is also an interesting playlist in there called Daily Drive, which blends newscasts and music for daily commuters.
6. Discover Weekly: An Easy Way to Find New Music
One thing to keep in mind is that Spotify is constantly experimenting with how it shows content. That means your Home screen will shift around depending on the time of day or whatever is currently being featured.
There are some constants that you can count on, though. Discover Weekly has been one of Spotify’s more popular features and does a good job surfacing new songs. This playlist is refreshed each Monday and uses your listening habits to build a collection you should love, filled with music you probably haven’t heard before.
The more you use Spotify throughout the week, the better the curation of songs will be. It does manage to do a surprisingly good job with small amounts of data too, though.
You can also count on the New Music Friday playlist, which gathers several hours of brand-new tunes each Friday from across all genres. While it isn’t personalized to your tastes, it will expose you to the latest hits. Look for it on your Home screen each week.
7. Spotify Radio: Turn a Song into a Radio Station
Loving a particular song and want more of the same? Open that song, tap the three-dot menu next to the track, and select to Go to radio. Spotify will create a stream of songs based on your favorite tune. Tap the heart icon to save it to your library.
8. Unique Categories: Browse Songs From Netflix, Disney Favorites
When looking for music on Spotify, you don't necessarily need to know what you're looking for. From the Search section of the app, there are lots of ways to dip into something unique.
Beyond things like charts, music styles, and new releases, there are some unique categories. Spotify has curated sections for Disney and Netflix, for example. The Netflix area features soundtracks, podcasts, and playlists. Liked the songs that were playing during Do Revenge? You can find them all right there.