Spotify is testing new card-style user profiles focused on discovery

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By Webdesk


At Spotify’s Stream On event this month, the company introduced a redesigned app with TikTok-style discovery feeds, an AI DJ, and other tools for artists and podcasters. But the changes to the app may not end there. The company confirmed that it is now testing a revamp of its user profiles, which will include a card-style layout that will allow users to establish more of a social identity on the platform, in addition to easy access to Spotify’s unique features such as personalized recommendations, Blend playlists, co-listening experiences and more.

The changes were first noticed by Chris Messina, who shared screenshots of the tests on Twitter. He saw the extra cards on profiles and how the new layout prompted users to tap a button to “discover more features.”

However, some Spotify users said that they have had the updated profiles for a while. But that’s only because the feature has been live tested in multiple markets. These profiles are not fully rolled out to all users.

Spotify has not committed to making the feature available to everyone at any given time. Often, the company’s new ideas are publicly tested and then tweaked based on user engagement and feedback before being rolled out globally. Or, in some cases, they are completely scrapped. That said, it’s not too likely that it would be dropped, given how well it fits Spotify’s new redesign, which puts more emphasis on discovery.

“We routinely run some tests,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch when asked about the new profiles. “Some of those tests ultimately determine our user experience and others only serve as an important learning point. We have nothing left to share at this point,” she added.

One of the notable changes in this version of the user profiles is the new header at the top of the screen that looks more like something you’d see on a social network. Currently, Spotify user profiles are pretty bare-bones. The person’s name and number of followers and followers appear above lists of their playlists and recently played artists. By comparison, the new profiles contain other details about the person such as the Spotify plan they’re subscribed to, how long they’ve been a Spotify member, their general location (such as the US), in addition to the number of followers and followers. , a button for following them and another for profile edits.

There’s also a cool feature that apparently lets you put a “vibe” above your name, to spice up your profile.

The new profiles still include sections for your playlists and artists, but they now appear as cards and more interactive features are available in addition to these options. For example, you can now click a button to create a new playlist directly from your profile, or use buttons next to each playlist to share it with others. In addition to each artist’s name, there are also buttons that allow you to follow the artist on Spotify – you had to click into the artist profile to do so. This can be especially useful if you’ve visited someone else’s profile and discovered new artists through their activity.

Under the “Discover more features” section in the new profiles, users are alerted to other things they can do on Spotify – like find live events, “like” more songs to improve their recommendations, make Blends with friends, Spotify’s new audiobooks view and more.

The profiles also include a message at the bottom that reads “View more cards,” indicating that future additions will be coming to this space beyond playlists and recently played artists. But this feature isn’t fully fleshed out yet — Messina told us that, when clicked, the in-app message reads “there’s nothing to see here yet” and informs users that Spotify is “building more content for u – coming soon.”

(May we suggest incorporating podcast recommendations into this experience?)

These changes would make sense as part of Spotify’s broader focus on discovery that drives the most recent app updates. That is, rather than just showing a user’s basic information and activity, these redesigned profiles would allow people to explore more of what Spotify has to offer, while also making it easier to find new artists and music directly from find and enjoy someone else’s profile with fewer clicks.





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