The success of TikTok is undeniable, so much so that even Spotify decided to test a vertical video feeds which is very reminiscent of the ByteDance social network. The new section Discover (You discover) of Spotify in fact allows you to enjoy a series of music videos suggested by the algorithm. The novelty arrives in the Beta of the app and should soon arrive in the official version, together with the many other innovations launched in recent weeks.
Spotify tests a TikTok-style vertical video feed
Discover new music videos it’s not all that different than discovering a new TikTok Challenge. Or at least that’s what the Spotify engineers must have thought, who decided to capitalize on the new interaction mode proposed by the Chinese social network to help us find new songs.
The product designer was the first to report the novelty, discovered in the beta version of the app Chris Messina. Who discovered the “Discover” button on Twitter (which in the stable version could be translated as “Discover”) at the bottom of the app, the fourth key after Home, Search and Library. Touching it ends up in the TikTok of music videos, as he himself showed on Twitter.
Discover new songs and get lost in the music
Browse the video feed of Spotify Discover very closely resembles the TikTok experience. Users just need to make one swipe up or down to switch from one content to another. But at the bottom of the screen you will find the song title, artist name and album cover, as if listening to any Spotify song.
This allows you to find out new songs, new artists, new musical genres. But having thought of this social network-style service is not just about finding songs to listen to. For that there are already the many playlists that arrive on Spotify every day and allow you to appreciate music in all its facets.
The new feature does what TikTok has been hugely successful for: it offers us fast and seamless entertainment. And if we find a song that strikes us, we can easily create a playlist around it. But Spotify Discover seems primarily designed to keep us on the streaming platform for a few minutes when we have some free time, perhaps while traveling on public transport or during a break from work.
Spotify Discover: The TikTok-style video feed is just one of many new features
This feature remains in beta only, there has been no official announcement. So it doesn’t necessarily mean that it arrives on the platform, although it seems likely. But the novelty underlines the commitment made by the music streaming giant to launch interesting features for users.
We recently saw the expected raround the texts of songs on Spotify, much appreciated by users. But we also saw the launch of Netflix Hub, which collects all the soundtracks and songs of Netflix movies and TV series in one place.
So we won’t be surprised when our favorite artists share their video clips on Spotify Discover: the app continues to bring new things that make us lose more and more in the world of music.