Spotify’s Stream On event next month will feature several updates to the audio streaming service, including a reported TikTok-like upgrade.
Key Details
- Like other social-media platforms looking to compete with TikTok, Spotify may be changing its look to more closely resemble the vertically swiped homepage found on TikTok.
- Rather than selecting a music album from a carousel of still images, users will swipe through content that begins playing automatically, Bloomberg reports.
- The videos playing can range from longer video content to looping GIFs.
- During Spotify’s investor day last summer, executives explained that the new format is intended to bring cohesion to the platform’s music, podcast, and audiobook content.
- Spotify has not officially announced the update but told Bloomberg that the company runs a “number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience. Some of those end up paving the path for our broader user experience, and others serve only as important learnings. We have no further news to share on future plans at this time.”
Why it’s news
Spotify’s potential change to a TikTok-like format is likely an attempt to gain attention from younger users that frequent the video-sharing app. YouTube and Instagram have already implemented similar formats to their platforms through YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.
Gen Z users are in the minority of free Spotify subscribers. Last year, Spotify shared that one in three users fell in the 18-to-24 age range, Bloomberg reports. Formatting the app to more closely resemble an already popular social media platform could attract younger users.
A format change isn’t the only way the company is looking to entice a younger audience. Two recent Spotify podcast deals, one with Emma Chamberlain and the other with a Swedish comedy podcast, are targeted at a Gen Z audience.
Other platforms are also looking to podcasts to capture the attention of younger users. Even ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is signing deals with various podcasting companies. YouTube recently signed an agreement to bring Freakonomics Radio Network programs to the platform.
Moving forward, Spotify will likely continue rolling out content aimed at bringing younger audiences to the platform.
