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Spotify's free tier just got a major upgrade - here's what's new

Anadolu/Contributor/Anadolu via Getty Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Spotify is upgrading its free tier with several new features. The features give you more control over how you listen to songs. Users will start to see the new options today. Less than a week after debuting long-awaited lossless audio and a few weeks after adding direct message capability, Spotify is rolling out some more good news. This time, it's for free users. In an announc

Free Spotify users can finally listen to any track immediately

There must be something in the water at Spotify HQ. Less than a week after delivering long-promised lossless audio, the company has another treat. Free listeners can finally listen to any track they want. After enhancing Premium, perhaps Spotify figured it could add a free perk without shedding subscribers. Spotify accounts on the free plan can now choose any track and immediately listen to it. Previously, that was paywalled for Premium subscribers. Non-paying ones had to shuffle through an alb

Spotify’s music recommendations stink. Here’s how I made them better

Tushar Mehta / Android Authority I am a snob when it comes to music choices. I have spent countless hours in my teenage years arguing with strangers on the internet that Megadeth is overrated, or defending Nickelback from being smeared as the worst rock band ever. Now, while I’ve realized I have been wrong in imposing my music choices on others, I still maintain a high level of scrutiny when deciding which music tracks will remain in my Spotify playlists. Yes, I rely on Spotify as one of my go

Amazon Music launches AI-powered weekly playlists based on 'preferences and mood'

Amazon Music has just launched new AI-powered weekly playlists based on the "preferences and mood" of listeners. This just means it scrapes what you've already been listening to and extrapolates further. It doesn't apply modern technology to gauge the actual mood of users. The company says the playlists include "a curated mix of familiar favorites from their most listened-to artists and latest favorites to new discoveries." I'm not exactly sure how this is different from what music streaming pl

Amazon Music’s new AI feature generates personalized playlists every Monday

Ever since Spotify launched an AI DJ, Amazon Music has been developing its own AI-powered features, including AI-generated playlists and AI-assisted search, to compete more effectively with the music giant. Now, Amazon Music is launching a new feature called “Weekly Vibe,” designed to further personalize the listening experience. The feature is rolling out today to U.S. customers across all subscription tiers within the app on both iOS and Android. Recognizing a common challenge faced by avid

YouTube Music at 10 wants to make fandom more interactive

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR YouTube Music is celebrating 10 years with new features, including playlist comments. The update also brings daily refreshed “taste match” playlists and more concert info via Bandsintown. Fans will be able to earn more badges and help push official videos to milestone view counts. Just yesterday, we dug through the YouTube Music app and found evidence that playlist comments were coming. Less than 24 hours later, YouTube has announced the feature. We’ll le

YouTube Music turns 10 and adds new ‘taste match’ playlists

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. YouTube Music is launching shared playlists that evolve based on the listening habits of the people who join them. The platform announced the new “taste match” playlists as part of its 10th anniversary on Thursday, and says it will refresh them with new music ev

YouTube Music celebrates 10 years with new features that help it compete with Spotify

YouTube is celebrating 10 years of its YouTube Music app on Thursday with the launch of new features that bring it closer to rival Spotify and others. The app will now include “Taste Match” playlists, which are playlists that combine multiple users’ overlapping interests, similar to Spotify Blend. The app will also start notifying users of upcoming releases, merch, and concerts, and is partnering with Bandsintown to help fans discover concerts when watching videos and Shorts on YouTube itself.

YouTube Music could soon let you comment on playlists, here’s what we know (APK teardown)

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR YouTube is working on bringing comments to YouTube Music playlists. YouTube Music already allows comments on audio, video, and podcast content. If it succeeds, YouTube might also bring comments to video playlists on the main app. Two years ago, Google rolled out YouTube’s most hotly debated feature to YouTube Music. The comments section, which is both a treasure chest of insights and a bottomless pit of bullying remarks, is currently available for audio,

Spotify Will Let You Create Transitions and Mix Playlists Like a DJ

Ever wished for smooth, on-point song transitions in your music streaming playlists customized to your liking? Spotify is rolling out a new beta feature for Premium subscribers globally that lets you add tailor-made transitions between songs, the company shared Tuesday. You can opt to play DJ -- and skip the AI version -- and curate how songs flow on an existing playlist or a new one. By clicking the Mix button, you can adjust the EQ, volume, fade and other effects. If you're looking to collabo

Move over, Apple. Spotify's take on AutoMix is more customizable and personalized

Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways Spotify's new feature lets you mix songs in your playlist by customizing volume, EQ, and effect curves. You can also create customized covers for these mixed playlists. It is now rolling out in beta to Spotify Premium users. Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. With iOS 26, Apple introduced an on-command, AI-powered DJ that transitions songs in the Music app. While Spotify offe

Spotify now lets you create seamless transitions between songs on your custom playlists

Spotify routinely debuts new playlist features for its users, but the company's latest update has the potential to dramatically alter custom mixes. Starting today, premium users will have access to a new tool for creating customized transitions within playlists. This will allow seamless progression from one track to the next, with natural-sounding changeovers and no awkward silence. Once you've created a playlist, you'll notice a Mix option on the toolbar. When selected, the tool gives you the

Spotify’s latest feature lets you add your own transitions to playlists

Spotify is introducing a new feature that allows subscribers to create more professional, personalized playlists. On Tuesday, the company launched a custom transitions feature that lets you either automatically add transitions between a playlist’s tracks or customize your own using preset options like fade, rise, or blend, along with other options. To use the feature, open any playlist and select “Mix” from the toolbar to begin editing. While customizing the track with different transition styl

I’ve been a Spotify user since 2008, and these are the 5 tricks everyone should know

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority I received my invite to join Spotify back in November of 2008 — yes, back then, you couldn’t sign up by yourself; another user had to invite you with a personalized link first. I created an account, used my free trial, and finally had access to the world’s largest music streaming platform. For the first few years, though, I kept switching between Spotify and my personal music collection, canceling and restarting my subscription, until Spotify won, and it was g

Spotify Panama Playlists expose the soundtrack of the elite (and the death of their privacy)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR A website called Panama Playlists claims to have exposed the Spotify listening habits of politicians, tech CEOs, celebrities, and journalists by tracking their public playlists and listening activity. The leak reveals the personal music choices of some of the world’s most powerful people, including US Vice President JD Vance, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi, and others. The site highlights a big flaw in how Spotify hand

Spotify activity revealed for celebrities, politicians, exposing privacy faults

Spotify has always had a bent toward social sharing and keeping music activity public. Now, a new website called Panama Playlists has exposed the service’s privacy gaps by revealing Spotify playback activity, playlists, and more for various celebrities—including tech leaders, politicians, and more. Panama Playlists exposes Spotify’s privacy shortcomings Do you know what your Spotify privacy settings are? That’s the question being prompted by a new website. As highlighted by The Verge, Panama

Spotify's lax privacy means anyone can see the Vice President's song choices

A new cybersecurity "breach" has revealed the personal information of various celebrities, and while it won't let you steal their identities, it will allow you to... judge them. The "Panama Playlists" details the Spotify song choices of notable people ranging from Vice President JD Vance to talk show host Seth Meyers to tech bros like Palmer Luckey. And technically, it wasn't a breach at all, but a possible lack of understanding around Spotify's privacy settings. Spotify has always allowed user

What JD Vance, Pam Bondi, and Sam Altman Can’t Stop Listening to, According to the ‘Panama Playlists’

From JD Vance's dinnertime Bieber to Sam Altman's Shazaming of incredibly popular hit songs, a website claiming to have published the Spotify listening habits of members of the Trump administration, tech leaders, and journalists is making the rounds. “We’ve been scraping their accounts since summer 2024. Playlists, live listening feed, everything. We know what songs they played, when, and how many times,” the Panama Playlists site reads, alleging, “With a little sleuthing, I could say with near

What JD Vance, Pam Bondi, and Sam Altman Can’t Stop Listening To, According to the ‘Panama Playlists’

From JD Vance's dinnertime Bieber to Sam Altman's Shazaming of incredibly popular hit songs, a website claiming to have published the Spotify listening habits of members of the Trump administration, tech leaders, and journalists is making the rounds. “We’ve been scraping their accounts since summer 2024. Playlists, live listening feed, everything. We know what songs they played, when, and how many times,” the Panama Playlists site reads, alleging, “With a little sleuthing, I could say with near

Spotify’s terrible privacy settings just leaked Palmer Luckey’s bops and bangers

is a reporter who writes about tech, money, and human behavior. She joined The Verge in 2014 as science editor. Previously, she was a reporter at Bloomberg. Have you ever wondered what bops powerful figures are listening to on Spotify? You’d be amazed what you can get with a profile search — but just in case you want them all in one place, there’s the Panama Playlists, a newly published collection of data on the musical listening habits of politicians, journalists, and tech figures, as curated

Spotify Celebrates 10 Years of Discover Weekly With a Fresh New Look

Spotify — a CNET Editors' Choice award-winning service — offers Premium subscribers ($12 a month) a huge catalog filled with millions of songs to enjoy at home, on the go and everywhere in between. And on Monday, the company celebrated 10 years of its Discover Weekly playlist by giving it a new look and giving subscribers more control over what genres of music they will see in the playlist. Read more: Best Music Streaming Services of 2025 I didn't mind the color-gradient Discover Weekly album

Apple Music lets you see your most played songs from the past decade now - here's where

Apple / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Apple is launching a new version of its annual Replay playlist called Replay All Time. Interestingly, instead of only tracking the tunes you've streamed most in the past calendar year, it goes all the way back to when you first subscribed. Also: iOS 26 just solved one of my biggest pain points with Apple Music So, if you've been an Apple Music user since the service first launched, you should see a consolidated view of your decade-long listening habits. Th

Apple Music just dropped 10 years of your favorite jams into one playlist - how to listen

Apple / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Apple is launching a new version of its annual Replay playlist called Replay All Time. Interestingly, instead of only tracking the tunes you've streamed most in the past calendar year, it goes all the way back to when you first subscribed. Also: iOS 26 just solved one of my biggest pain points with Apple Music So, if you've been an Apple Music user since the service first launched, you should see a consolidated view of your decade-long listening habits. Th

Apple Music marks 10 years of streaming with a new all-time Replay list

Apple Music is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its streaming service by giving users a throwback to their favorite hits over the last decade. “Replay All Time” — a special version of Apple Music’s annual Replay experience — is being launched for subscribers that allows them to view and listen to their most played songs since joining the platform. The personalized Replay All Time playlist will be available from the Apple Music Home tab. If you joined the service back when it first launche

Spotify adds genre controls to Discover Weekly

Spotify's Discover Weekly is celebrating 10 years of being a very ok feature. To celebrate the milestone, Spotify is giving Discover Weekly a full refresh, letting you choose between up to five genres for the playlist. The option will appear at the top of your playlist and provide songs based on your listening history. The 30-track playlist will update accordingly. There are also visual changes, with Spotify stating, "the playlist's vibrant new design reflects its ever-evolving nature and the d

Spotify Is Giving You More Control Over Your Discover Weekly Playlist

Spotify — a CNET Editor's Choice award-winning service — offers Premium subscribers ($12 a month) a huge catalog filled with millions of songs to enjoy at home, on the go and everywhere in between. The streaming app is an easy way to find new musicians thanks to the Discover Weekly playlist. On Monday, Spotify announced it is revamping the Discover Weekly playlist on the mobile app, giving subscribers more control over what genres of music they will discover. Read more: Best Music Streaming Ser

Spotify will let users personalize the genre of Discover Weekly playlists

Spotify is adding new personalization features to Discover Weekly, the popular and influential playlist streamed by millions of users. The regularly updated playlist will now have buttons for genres like pop, R&B, and funk at the top, allowing users to tell Spotify what they want more of. The Discover Weekly playlist is one of the more noteworthy things Spotify has introduced: the company says songs on the playlist have been streamed more than 100 billion times. The weekly mixtape — generated v

Can Music Really Help You Sleep? Here's How to Build a Playlist for Deeper Slumber

Music fuels my life. Whether I'm writing, reading, working, running, driving or sitting around the house, music is usually flooding my ears or playing softly in the background. Choosing a song or playlist is the first thing I do in the morning, and if I have my AirPods in, you can count on Spotify playing my favorite podcasts. To me, music is a form of love. It boosts moods, soothes heartache and reaches audiences across language barriers. Music can also help you sleep at night, easing anxiety