Spotify's recent launch of podcast commenting has seen the streamer take another step towards building a social networking experience on an app known primarily for music. The commenting feature allows podcasters to engage with listeners directly within Spotify, as well as other interactive features like polls and Q&As. Coupled with a 2023 app revamp that added a TikTok-like discovery feed, artist profiles where creators can pitch merchandise or concert tickets, and the ability to post to Stories, the Spotify app is fast becoming more than just a music streaming app, but a social network centered around all things audio.
This week, Spotify added support for comments to podcast episode pages – a real social networking feature. The next question is whether Spotify will add a similar feature for music artists in the future. Since musicians' fan bases tend to be larger and more engaged than most podcast fan bases, this could be an even more attractive addition to the app.
When I was talking with Maya Prohovnik, VP of Podcast Product at Spotify, about the launch of the comments feature, I asked her if they would also add commenting support to artist pages.
Prokhovnik did not outright deny that such ideas were being considered and initially refrained from commenting, but then added: [support for comments] “While we're exploring moving Spotify to other formats, we always want to do what's right for that format and that type of creator or artist.”
It's worth noting that the idea of building a social network within a music app has been tried before by Spotify's biggest rival, Apple.
In 2010, Steve Jobs introduced iTunes' new social network, Ping, as “kind of like Facebook meets Twitter meets iTunes,” calling it “a social network just for music.” Jobs was clearly on to something, but Ping never took off during Apple's founder's lifetime. Apple shut down Ping in 2012, shortly after Jobs' death, in a rare failure for the iPhone maker. Apple later tried again with Connect, a social feature aimed at musicians, but that too didn't last.
Even today, Apple continues to semi-reluctantly embrace social networking with its Apple Music streaming service, offering an optional feature that periodically checks your on-device contacts to recommend new friends to follow and let you see what they're listening to.
Image credit: Spotify
But unlike Apple, Spotify has never made the bold declaration that it would build an audio-focused social network.
Instead, the company has been quietly and slowly rolling out a series of features that make the app more social for creators and fans alike. In a redesign last year, for example, Spotify added in-app video feeds across its home page, including tabs for music, podcasts, and audiobooks. While the design of these feeds has been tweaked since launch, the move signaled that Spotify is learning from TikTok, Gen Z's favorite social network, when designing its own products.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek spoke about TikTok's impact during the company's first-quarter 2024 earnings call, telling investors that TikTok and other services have “improved the user experience” and that the industry is “learning from these trends and working to improve our products.”
“We're no different than any other company in that we try to learn from the market,” Ek said, suggesting the app was inspired by TikTok. “We learn what consumers like, and we try to improve on that and provide the best user experience possible.”
Image credit: Spotify
Over the past year, the company has also added a new way for artists to reach their fans through its Spotify Clips feature, which works similarly to Stories on other social networks, allowing artists to add 30-second videos to their profile and album pages.
Artists can also tease fans about new releases on countdown pages, and fans can hear video messages from their favorite artists through the company's annual Spotify Wrapped campaign. Meanwhile, Spotify users can follow creators and friends on the platform to stay up to date on the latest music and events, and see what their friends are streaming. They can also collaborate on playlists with other users in a variety of ways, including in real time. The company has previously been spotted testing a community feature that would let users see what others are streaming in real time.
With the addition of comments, Spotify envisions an app where users can go beyond just playing audio and putting their phone back in their pocket, to actively participate and share their thoughts, feelings and opinions, just like a traditional social network.
Combined, these features are starting to give rise to apps that go beyond mere music streamers and aim to compete for users' time, and ultimately advertising dollars, spent on larger social networks.