What you need to know
- Spotify introduces a new beta for global Premium users called SongDNA, which takes users across a web of songwriters, collaborators, and more for a track.
- SongDNA lets users discover even more music from more creators they may not have known about prior, as it aims to complement “About this song.”
- “About this song” lets users dive into the artist’s mindset when creating a specific track, which is a more personal experience, as opposed to SongDNA.
Music discovery and enlightenment continue on Spotify with this new “immersive” test that aims to show how your favorite track came to be.
Spotify shared the details regarding its newest beta test rolling out for global Premium users: SongDNA. Subscribers can find SongDNA by opening Now Playing > SongDNA card. This card houses everything about a track that you might want to know. Spotify says this will include collaborators, music samples, interpolations (what shaped its sound), and covers. The songwriters involved in the production process will also be highlighted in the SongDNA card.
Android Central’s Take
SongDNA sounds scientific. I know that sounds silly, but it’s the production side of creating music. Who they’ve collaborated with, the songwriters involved, and perhaps their involvement with other artists. It’s like falling into rabbit hole of music that you might want to sit in for a while.
Seeing as Spotify has been down a more music-discovery road, everything surfaced in SongDNA can be interacted with. The post states, “You can tap into any of those creators to discover the other artists they’ve worked with, then explore those collaborators in turn.” According to Spotify, the goal behind SongDNA is to give artists a way to put their collaborations and influences “front and center.”
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Spotify’s head of songwriter and publisher partnerships, Jacqueline Ankner, said SongDNA helps to make it “easier for fans to discover new music and see how songs connect and come to life.” With that, SongDNA uses the information Spotify receives from its creators, alongside community-sourced data. This feature is simply a test for now, but Spotify has plans to put this in the hands of the artists in the future.
It says that SongDNA will evolve into allowing “eligible” artists and labels to tweak anything in the feature to ensure the right story is being told.
There’s a lot that goes into songmaking
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(Image credit: Spotify)(Image credit: Spotify)
“About this song” returns to the forefront in this update, as Spotify states SongDNA is intended to complement it. This feature debuted in February as a way for users to learn about the artist’s inspiration for the track and their mindset while creating it. “About this song” is a little more personal in that regard, but SongDNA puts a new spin on it. Users will be able to see the other side of that, finding new artists they may become fans of in the process.
Android Central’s Take
I thought “About this song” was interesting when it was first announced. It’s that creative side of creating music that pulled me in. To see what influenced the artist or maybe the story they were trying to tell with that song. It felt more personal, as you get to dive into their mindset. SongDNA gives users a little more of a wider perspective, as we’ll be able to see those involved and everything else they’ve done.
A more recent update in March was “Taste Profile.” Spotify keeps track of your musical interests, and Taste Profile displays what it thinks you like the most. However, users can take control over Spotify in this regard by telling their Taste Profile what they’d like to hear more or less of.
