In 2015, the music industry decided that Friday would be the new Global Release Day. Virtually every artist’s new album or single now drops at 12:01 AM on Friday. If you’re anything like me, the first thing that you do on Friday morning is scan through the new releases. Personally, I use Spotify, and the service does a great job of highlighting the new music every Friday. The one problem is that it does not do as good a job pointing me to the latest releases from my favorite artists. That’s why the What’s New feature that Spotify announced on Monday is so exciting.
As Spotify explains in a press release on its website: “What’s New makes it easier than ever to catch all the latest songs and episodes from the creators you follow. Plus, it’s even updated in real time, so you know you’ll get to listen to new content just as it’s released.”
Spotify adds a What’s New feed to mobile
The What’s New feed gathers all the latest songs from your favorite artists and episodes from your favorite podcasts. Check your What’s New feed by tapping the bell icon at the top of the Home tab in the mobile app. If you see a blue dot on that bell icon, new content has been added to the feed. Once you’re on your What’s New feed, you can set filters. These allow you to see just new music releases or just new podcast episodes, in case your feed is too cluttered.
On the other hand, if your What’s New feed is barren, there’s an easy fix. Start following more artists and shows. As you increase the number of creators you follow, your What’s New feed will grow. It is clear that the feature will be more useful for subscribers who follow a bunch of creators.
Spotify says that the What’s New feed is rolling out on iOS and Android over the coming weeks. You might not see the bell icon quite yet, but it should appear soon.
