Is Spotify becoming a social network?

At the beginning of July, Spotify launched a new interactive feature: podcast comments. What's the project?

Creators can now like and reply to listener comments, while retaining control over the comments that appear on their page. According to Spotify, this feature has long been popular with users and podcasters alike. Is this a test before a general roll-out that would encourage interaction within the application? That's the question on everyone's lips.

Spotify deploys podcast comments to build listener loyalty

Thanks to comments, podcasters can interact with their listeners directly within the platform, as they already can with other interactive features such as polls or Q&A. "For podcast creators looking to grow their audience, establishing a stronger relationship with their listeners and fans is essential. To amplify their presence, creators need tools that give them the functionality, insights and flexibility to manage their shows and engage fans anytime, anywhere. That's why, starting today, we're rolling out a brand new way for podcast creators to interact with their fans: comments. We're also introducing a simpler way for all podcasters to manage their shows with the all-new Spotify for Podcasters mobile app," said Spotify in its release.

With the addition of comments, Spotify envisions an application where users no longer simply launch a playlist before putting their phone back in their pocket, but where they engage, share their views, feelings and opinions as they would on a traditional social network.

Spotify an audio social network?

The question now is whether Spotify will go so far as to offer a similar feature for music artists. Indeed, many are wondering whether podcast comments might not be a test before a large-scale roll-out. An addition that could make the music streaming application even more interesting, as musicians' fan bases are far larger and more active than those of podcasts.

When asked by TechCrunch about extending this functionality to artist pages, Maya Prohovnik, Spotify's VP of Podcasts, didn't categorically deny that such an idea was under consideration. The VP said, " I see a world in which we extend comment support to other formats on Spotify." She added: " We've found that listeners who interact with a show are four times more likely to return to that show within 30 days.. "

It's worth noting that the idea of creating a social network within a music application has already been tried by Spotify's main competitor, Apple. In 2010, Steve Jobs introduced the iTunes social network, Ping, as " Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes ", calling it "a social network dedicated entirely to music ". In 2012, due to lack of success, Apple shut down Ping. A rare failure for the iPhone maker. Apple then proposed another feature called Connect. Again, it was a flop. Unlike Apple, Spotify has never claimed to be building an audio-focused social network. Instead, the company is quietly and slowly rolling out a series of features that are gradually making the application more social for creators and their fans.

Spotify wants to promote interactivity within its application

This new feature joins those deployed when the app was redesigned in 2023. Spotify has, for example, launched Spotify Clips, a Stories-like feature that allows artists to add vertical videos of less than 30 seconds to their profile and album pages.

Artists can also communicate with their fans on new releases with Countdown Pages, and fans continue to hear their favorite artists in video messages via the annual Spotify Wrapped campaign.

According to some experts, the company is also testing a community feature that would enable users to see, in real time, what others are playing. All these features show that Spotify is taking inspiration from social networks to develop its application. It's an inspiration that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is not shying away from: at the company's Q1 2024 results presentation to investors, he said that TikTok, among other things, had "improved the user experience", and that the music industry was "getting to grips with these trends and trying to improve our products".

Spotify seeks profitability

There's no doubt that the Swedish giant is accelerating its efforts to find a sustainable business model. As a reminder, since its creation in 2006, the platform has never managed to turn a full-year profit. Although its subscriber base grows year on year, it only occasionally turns a quarterly profit. In 2023, for example, Spotify exceeded its forecasts for user growth, passing the 600 million mark for monthly users, an increase of 23% year-on-year. The number of Premium accounts, which account for the bulk of its revenue, has also risen by 15% to 236 million subscribers. But while the platform is reporting a 13% increase in sales for the year, to 13.2 billion euros by the end of 2023, the world leader in music streaming continues to lose money. In 2023, its cumulative operating losses amounted to $446 million.

‍