14 DAY TRIAL // Spotify is a music streaming service with a lot of weight to its name. Known for its recommendation algorithms, an ever-widening music library, its year-end Wrapped user listening habits, and an interface design that is modern and sleek, the platform has built up quite the reputation over the years.
While there is some level of competition in the music streaming market, Spotify is, without a doubt, a major player. The platform does many things well: from its recommendations and the Connect feature to an expansive music selection, Spotify is the default choice of many when it comes to streaming their favorite songs.
The importance of interface design
The app's interface design is often touted as one of the main reasons for its popularity: accessing the platform, be it through your web browser, computer, console, or mobile device, greets you with an experience that is all but unified. Ease-of-use is the name of the game here, and navigating through the interface feels natural, as users are able to go from one song to another, from playlist to playlist, in only a few inputs.
You won't be listening to the interface, but you'll have to use it to get to your favorite tunes. That is why, for many, interface design is one of the pillars of a good music streaming service: if you can't get along with how the UI presents your content, then it might take away from your listening experience.
The place for playlist lovers — mostly
This interface acts as a vehicle to your music, so if you find maneuvering it cumbersome, that's already a bad start. That's not to say that Spotify's design is without fault: on the contrary, the inclusion and integration of podcasts on the platform has seen its fair share of complaints. Some of these complaints are often levied by users who present no interest in podcasts at all, yet they occupy a significant portion of their home screen.
It's also important to talk about the intention behind Spotify's interface design. More often than not, the platform is seen as a solution for the playlist-focused music listeners, who prefer creating, maintaining, and listening to playlists. This is different from diving into albums and artist discographies, which is where a platform like Apple Music, for instance, is seen as more suitable. You absolutely can do all of that here, but the playlists-centered design is evident, hence those who like delving into discographies and the like often choose to look elsewhere.
A generous music library
Either way, there are plenty of songs to listen to, discographies to go through, and playlists to be all ears for. While this may be confusing at first, it's good to have options. Search for a few artists and songs you're a fan of manually, add them to your library, maybe create a few playlists, and the algorithm will pick up on your activity.
Those who care about recommendations know about Discover Weekly, but for those who don't, it's still a good way to discover new content that might be up your alley. Spotify describes it as "your weekly mixtape," which is a fair description, seeing as each week, the service provides you with 30 new song recommendations that it thinks are relevant to your listening habits.
You can always look up an artist and see relevant playlists for their music, and the same applies to certain genres and styles. Want a strictly hip-hop playlist? You got it. Looking for some moody tunes to listen to on a rainy day? No problem. All of this can be found through the Search menu, which has something for everyone.
Algorithm-based recommendations
As you listen to music, the platform will get a feel of what you like. This is reflected in the Daily Mixes playlists, which are automatically generated and contain a few songs you like, while also featuring some tunes in the same vein.
Like a particular song a lot? Then you might want to make use of the song radio feature, which generates a set of tracks based on it. These tracks are meant to be somewhat similar in style and mood, and this is essentially Spotify's way to "keep the mood going," as they say.
Playlists have a radio of sorts themselves. Upon listening to all of the songs from a given playlist, the platform will begin playing additional songs that are similar to the ones you had listened to. In addition, users who wish to populate their playlists further might want to take a look at the Recommended section, which is easy to be overlooked, as it's way down at the bottom of the playlist interface.
Ease of integration
Another important part, which might be of interest to some, lies in the community aspect. Shared playlists allow users to collaborate with their friends to populate a playlist together, and you're always able to see what your friends are up to via the Activity tab. Perhaps you recommended a new album for your friend to check out, or are simply looking to see what your Folk-obsessed friend is listening to: look over to Friend Activity, and see what they're playing.
Spotify Connect is a feature that can be especially significant for some users. It makes connecting and playing music on different devices a breeze. Whether it's playing a song on your phone, TV, computer, or console, this feature makes switching the listening device remarkably easy. Listening on your computer, but want to use the TV speakers? Select the TV from the Connect devices list, and the song should start playing there without delay. You can control playback directly from your computer, too: fast-forward to your favorite part, raise or lower the volume, and decide what to play next.
Lyrics are a recently-introduced feature, and they work just as you would expect. They support most songs, but it's not uncommon to find something that doesn't have anything yet. The majority are time-synced, and even allow users to jump to a certain lyric by clicking on it.
Slow to change
For other technicalities, audio quality is good, reaching 320Kbps in the Premium version. The Free tier is a bit more modest in that regard, as it tops out at just 128Kbps. Crossfading can be turned on under the Playback section in the Settings menu, where it's also possible to use one of the many equalizer presets, or come up with your own.
As it's perhaps been made clear by now, there's effectively an endless stream of content for users to experience. While it is true that you might find the odd song (or artist, if you listen to Joanna Newsom...) that isn't on the platform, there's always the option of going local. The program supports local songs from your computer, which you can also sync and play with the mobile app, provided you download them there.
While many other services are slowly adopting Hi-Fi, allowing users to enjoy greater music fidelity in their listening sessions, Spotify is lagging behind in that aspect. Arguments can be made that the benefits of Hi-Fi and lossless playback are imperceptible to most users, but this is nevertheless a missing feature.
The Good
The service has a very modern and accessible interface, which makes it easy to get to your favorite tunes without anything getting in your way.
Spotify Connect is a feature that many appreciate, and rightly so. It makes switching between listening devices a worry-free experience.
The Bad
Podcasts are a mixed bag. Those who don't care about them shouldn't have to encounter them near the top of their Home page whenever they open the app.
Depending on your music taste, you may not find all of your favorite songs here. Some artists actively avoid being featured on Spotify, but this may not affect you at all.
