Remember the time when Snapchat used to be the hippest app on the block? How everyone looked in wonder as it blessed us with little teasers in the form of Stories? The excitement of seeing something truly extraordinary unfolding before our eyes?
Sadly, the joy of exploration didn’t last long. The beloved feature that set Snapchat truly apart was shamelessly replicated by the biggest names in the tech space. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, and, now, even Spotify, can proudly flaunt the “new” Story feature. They all claim it to be distinguishable, of course. But at its core, we all know what the feature looks like, stands for, and how it’d be used to draw more attention towards the app.
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Spotify Stories — A brief outlook
Spotify, as you may already know, is the leading streaming service in the world. It has an enviable collection of songs, has excellent playlists, and comes with a soothing and sophisticated UI that makes it unbelievably easy to get into the ecosystem.
Spotify has stories now….
S P O T I F Y
This has got to stop pic.twitter.com/xsurbrJblx
— TmarTn (@TmarTn) November 27, 2020
However, despite being the leader of its segment, Spotify has suddenly realized that a music app doesn’t really get the active user engagement that a top social media site gets. So, to remedy that, the developers have started testing a new Story feature for the app, which would give users behind-the-scenes info about the playlists/albums they are listening to on Spotify.
Spotify has clarified that the feature isn’t close to public rollout and is only in the testing phase. However, given its inclusion in the famous “Christmas Hits” playlist, we believe we could actually be seeing the feature come to life in the near future.
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Is there anything different in Spotify Stories?
As discussed in the introduction, every application with a Story feature claims itself to be different from the pack. In all honesty, the stories in Spotify do look — at least, work — a little differently than the rest. First and foremost, they aren’t exactly created by users — as of yet — and are generally meant for consumers who are looking for a deeper look inside their music.
However, since it still hasn’t seen the light of day, it would be premature to celebrate the potential it might have. Additionally, earlier this year, Spotify was spotted testing this feature with influencers, allowing them to link their stories with specially-curated playlists. So, it’s pretty difficult to say where it would head when the feature becomes an official part of Spotify.
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A look at the bright side
As made evident by the title of this little piece, we’re not very thrilled with the concept of Spotify Stories. However, that doesn’t mean we would rob you of the joys that this new feature could bring. So, before getting to our thoughts, let’s take a look at the only good thing that could come out of this.
Spotify Stories, in their current form, aren’t created by your average Joes and Janes. These little snippets — created by the contributing artists — are meant to be the perfect accompaniment to your music.
These Stories will not pull your focus away from the music but add some more depth to the tracks you’re listening to. You could get the opportunity to know what your favorite artists were thinking during the recording sessions, what their thought process was, and more such life-altering facts.
If you’re not exactly bored with the Story feature that keeps following us around, you probably won’t mind trying something or seeing something actually engaging.
If the feature actually manages to stay exclusive to contributing artists and relevant people, we do see Spotify making a big splash in the current music streaming scene. A splash big enough to entice the likes of Apple Music.
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Do we really need Stories in Spotify?
In the section above, we talked in length about the actual good thing that could come out of this whole Story business. And if you’re the right kind of user, you might even feel inclined to root for a public release, but we happen to be a little more skeptical about its usage.
Sure, it is still a harmless little feature for backstage access, but we aren’t really sure how long it’ll be before Spotify makes this available to the general playlist makers inside the app. And when that happens, it’ll become another regular attention hog, filled with content that very few people care about.
The overpopulation of Stories has also led to massive neglect on our part. Even social media junkies do not have the time or energy to fire up another application and go through its Stories. It’s taxing and wildly unnecessary.
With that said, we don’t mind knowing more about our favorite artists and some extras about the playlists we’re listening to, but we probably don’t want to see another glowing circle inside an app that we tend to use regularly. Instead of Stories, Spotify could’ve actually allowed little video diaries — a special space for artists to express their work.
Before the global rollout, we can’t possibly praise or bash the initiative. So, we’re only voicing our opinions, hoping someone takes a little look. We don’t need the overused concept of Stories. And we definitely don’t need yet another attention hog. We need something that’s unique, in every sense of the term. And judging by the way it’s going, Spotify won’t be able to hit the mark, this time around.
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