Spotify now lets groups of friends create their very own playlists.
The audio-streaming company recently launched its new "Jam" feature to users worldwide, allowing Premium subscribers to take real-time listening with their friends to the next level.
Spotify is rolling out its new Jam feature on Sept. 26; it is unknown if some users don't have it yet as of press time.
Spotify Jam Details
Spotify mentioned in its announcement that its new Jam feature combines some of its popular social features and personalization technology. It allows the company's Premium subscribers to invite their friends to add their favorite music to a shared queue so that those invited can listen to the music they add.
As such, instead of having one person in control of the music at a social (or digital) gathering, everyone can have their say by adding their own music to the shared queue, per Tech Crunch. Those invited to create a shared queue through Jam don't need a Premium subscription to Spotify, nor do they need to be near each other to do so.
Premium subscribers can invite people in the same room to share their favorite songs in the shared queue. They can also invite others from across the world to join the Jam, but the invite's recipient will need a Premium subscription first to do so.
Up to 32 people can be in the Jam's private session at any given time. As such, Spotify added the ability to see who added what song so users could can thank them for such an addition.
Thanks to Spotify's personalization technology, Jam considers the entire group's listening preferences to generate suggestions based on everyone's tastes. Since not everyone has the same taste in music, Spotify developed recommendation technology that allows Jam to recommend tracks all group members would like.
How To Use Spotify Jam
To start a Spotify Jam queue, users must select a playlist or song, tap on the speaker icon at the bottom of the screen, and then hit the "Start a Jam" button. Alternatively, they could hit the three-dot menu within their favorite playlist, album, or song and then select Start a Jam.
From here, users can select a device to play their music on, while Spotify users in their household connected to the same Wi-Fi network will receive an invite to join the Jam when they open the Spotify app.
Users can invite their friends in one of three ways:
- Turn on Bluetooth, then tap your phones together
- Have your friends scan the QR code on your host screen
- Hit "share" to send the link through social, text, SMS, and more
While everyone can add songs to the queue, see who added which song, and receive recommendations, only the host can determine who's in the Jam, change the tracks' order in the queue, or remove a song that doesn't fit the vibe. However, hosts can switch on "Guest controls" to give all participants the control they would otherwise have exclusively.
