Like Spotify expands in more global markets, the music streaming service is also refining its user experience. Starting today, he’s rolling out a much-needed overhaul for his desktop and web player to match the feel of his often updated mobile app. While cosmetic changes – including a cleaner homepage, a decluttered sidebar, and filters to help you sort your library – are welcome, real highlights for heavy users include new playlist tools and a download button that allows you to record music and podcasts for offline playback (the latter only for paid members).
If you’re someone who likes to compile your favorite tunes and podcasts, updates might end up pushing you to the desktop player through the mobile app. When creating a playlist, you will now be able to use a built-in search bar to search for music and podcasts. You can also write descriptions, upload images, and drag and drop tracks into existing playlists. The new controls essentially make it easier to create a playlist on the desktop or web player and offer more ways to express yourself, which should appeal to users who like to share playlists with friends and the public.
Spotify
Meanwhile, the design changes include a homepage that aligns with the mobile app, with a mix of Spotify recommended playlists and your high turnover; a simplified sidebar – with a “search” tool – an improved “library”, with new filters to help you sort your music and podcasts; and updated profile pages that add your best artists and tracks. Additional changes include the ability to edit your queue and view “recently read” content from the desktop app.
For a company that has revolutionized the way we access music, Spotify admits its desktop and web product was inferior to its mobile app. “We felt [the] the experience had not followed and it was time to change, ”the company said in its announcement today.
Perhaps, with more people listening at home rather than on the commute, the company has been forced to pay attention to its desktop and web readers. Whatever the reason for the changes, it looks like Spotify has a new recognition of the importance of its non-mobile apps: “We believe in the future of both platforms,” Spotify said, adding “we want to make sure that it can continue to meet the needs of our current and future users. ”
