Spotify is officially rolling out its redesigned experience that puts more emphasis on podcasts. The company announced today that a new version of its “Your Library” section is now being rolled out to subscribers who pay to its Premium plan. Its goal is to make it easy to move between Music and Podcasts and find the podcast episodes and shows you want to listen to.
In May, the company previewed this news with select press while the redesign was in testing.
With the update, users will be able to swipe or tap to switch between music and podcasts, while the latter also features three sections for podcast management: Episodes, Downloads, and Shows.
The Episodes tab allows you to search for new episodes or resume podcasts you are already listening to, picking up where you left off. As you scroll down, you will find other recently released episodes in the shows you follow. In other words, the experience prioritizes your ongoing episodes in a strict chronological order.
The Downloads tab is where you can manage the episodes you have saved for offline listening and the Shows tab is where you can manage the podcasts you follow and view your previous episodes. Shows are categorized in this section by those with the most recent episodes.
Meanwhile, the Music tab has been updated to make it easier to access the content you want to access. Before users were given a list (Playlists, Stations, Songs, Albums, etc.) to dive into, it will now be placed directly in the Playlist section.
To get to Artists or Albums, swipe or tap to access their section. To add an Artist, you still “follow” them as before and the albums you like the most (by touching the heart) are saved in the Albums section. You can also save all songs from an album to the “Songs you like” playlist by tapping the three-dot menu plus (…) and then selecting “I like all songs.”
The redesign places much less emphasis on video content, a previous approach for the streaming music provider. This year, Spotify, by contrast, has doubled down on podcasts, believing in its ability to transfer advertising from radio to its app by offering better targeting.
It has been selling its own ads on its original podcasts since mid-2018. However, paid subscriptions still account for the bulk of Spotify’s revenue today: € 1,385 million versus just € 126 million from advertising in the first quarter, and subscriptions are growing faster than advertising, at 34% versus 24%, respectively.
The company has grown its podcasts overall, with market acquisitions such as Gimlet, Parcast and Anchor, as well as investments in original and exclusive programming. Just yesterday, Spotify announced a new custom playlist that also combines music and podcasts.
Beyond its podcast approach, Spotify’s redesigned app is much easier to navigate, responding to a concern some have had with the overall experience. Spotify’s busy interface is often cited by those who opt for Apple Music as one of the reasons they prefer the competitor’s app. To some extent, this is personal preference. But Spotify has arguably been behind on an update given its shifting attention.
Spotify says the updated layout is available to Premium users today.
