GoKawiil
Tech News
Neko, the full-body scanning health startup cofounded by Spotify's Daniel Ek, has launched its first clinic in New York City. The company built the space's design around its focus on preventive, data-driven health screening rather than traditional reactive care.
Spotify has connected its service to Meta's personal AI agent Muse, allowing users to play music, podcasts and audiobooks, save tracks, search for content, and build or edit playlists through conversation. Muse can also generate Spotify's Personal Podcasts from notes and briefings, and use calendar context to automatically start relevant playlists at scheduled times or events. Spotify is described as the first major music-streaming service to join the growing list of apps connected to Muse.
Spotify has introduced a feature called Taste Profile that allows users to type everyday phrases requesting more or less of specific artists, genres or moods. The tool is designed to give listeners direct input into how the platform's recommendation algorithm shapes their feed.
Spotify has launched its 'Taste Profile' feature to Premium subscribers aged 18 and up in the United States, after debuting it in beta in New Zealand earlier this year. The tool lets users see how Spotify's AI interprets their listening habits and adjust it using natural-language requests to change what gets recommended in feeds like Discover Weekly, Made for You, and Wrapped.
Android Authority found Spotify developing a 'Cache Limit' feature for its Android app, letting users set a maximum size for the app's temporary storage cache. The tool would warn that smaller limits increase mobile data use and could affect playback, while suggesting a default size for balance. Downloaded music and podcasts stored offline would remain unaffected by this cache limit.
Winamp, the once-dominant MP3 player from the late 1990s known for its llama mascot, is returning to relevance through a partnership with streaming platform Deezer. The two companies plan to launch a subscription-based streaming service next year, positioning Winamp as a competitor to established players like Spotify.
Spotify is trialing a 'Premium Early Access' feature that withholds new album releases from free users for three days in select markets like India and Bangladesh, while paying subscribers get immediate access. The delay reportedly stems from licensing terms pushed by Universal Music Group rather than a decision Spotify made unilaterally, and the same restriction is expected to hit rival ad-supported services like YouTube Music and Amazon Music.
A new essay argues that platforms like YouTube, Spotify, LinkedIn and Reddit increasingly control what users see rather than letting them choose, citing doomscrolling recommendations, AI-generated filler music, sponsored opinions on LinkedIn, and bot-driven discussions on Reddit. The piece uses the 'Tetris effect' to illustrate how sustained, algorithm-driven focus reshapes thought patterns without users' explicit consent.
Cassette tapes, the dominant music format before CDs and streaming, are generally expected to last around 30 years even under ideal conditions, since their magnetic coating gradually loses lubrication and can detach over time. However, actual longevity depends heavily on how tapes were stored, with many well-kept cassettes from the 1970s and 80s still playable today.
At the Fast Company Innovation Festival, design executives from Spotify, Block, and Brooks discussed how generative AI has sped up the process of turning ideas into products. During the New Rules of Great Design panel, Spotify's Emily Galloway argued that speed and volume alone don't equal quality, emphasizing that human judgment remains essential to deciding what actually gets built.
A 404 Media investigation found scammers can upload AI-generated tracks and pass them off as new releases from existing artists on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and other platforms. By exploiting a loophole in digital distribution services like DistroKid, bad actors simply falsely claim to be the artist, letting the fake songs land directly on real catalogs and pull in streaming royalties meant for the original musician.
Spotify is broadening its podcast partner program this fall to 35 additional regions, including Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Chile, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Podcasters in these markets will be able to earn revenue from both ad and Premium subscriber activity across video and audio formats, while retaining sponsorship income and freedom to distribute elsewhere.