Spotify is launching a new personalized playlist called “Friends Mix” to give users a way to discover new tracks based on the Blends they’ve created with with their friends. The streaming service’s Blend tool allows two Spotify users to see where their musical tastes overlap by mixing together their favorite songs to find those they have in common. This Blend then updates daily with new songs based on everyone’s listening habits.
With Spotify’s new Friends Mix curated playlist, users will now be able to discover new and familiar tracks based on what’s trending among their friends.
If you don’t see a Friends Mix in your “Made For You” hub, you’ll need to start by creating a Blend. To do so, you need to type ‘Blend’ in the search tab and then tap “Invite” to select a friend you want to Blend with. Once your friend has accepted the invite, Spotify will generate your shared Blend playlist, which will include songs and recommendations that reflect yours and your friend’s music preferences and tastes. Once you’ve created three 2-person Blends, Spotify says you’ll get access to your own personalized Friends Mix in the Made For Us hub.
Spotify says there are more than 11 million user-generated playlists with the word “friend” in the title. The company also notes that there has been a 35% increase in streams of these playlists in 2022 in the United States, compared to last year.
It’s no surprise that Spotify is adding yet another personalized playlist to its service, especially since the company’s personalized playlists are one of its biggest selling factor, and one of the reasons Spotify continues to lead the music streaming market.
The launch of the new personalized playlist comes as recently expanded the Blend playlist creation tool to include more artists and started allowing fans to purchase artist merchandise through the feature. To Blend with one of these artists and purchase their merchandise, you can click the link the artist has shared to Blend with them. You will then receive a card that displays your “taste match” score — a score that’s calculated based on how similar or different your listening preferences are when compared to the artist you blended with. After receiving their taste match score, users will now have the opportunity to purchase the artist’s featured merch via the artist’s Spotify Shopify page.
