Just in time for International Friendship Day, Spotify is adding yet another custom playlist.
It’s called Friends Mix (opens in new tab) and it’s done by collecting songs from multiple Blend playlists and then putting them all together into one big mixtape. It’s another way, Spotify says, for people to discover new tracks.
Recommended songs are released in Blends that suit the creators’ tastes, but can cause people to miss out on potential new favorites. The idea is that as your Friends Mix grows, you discover new songs and add those songs to a separate Blend playlist, exposing them to others. When finding new artists, these friends continue to add new music to their Friends Mix, creating a never-ending cycle of music discovery.
Done for you
The Friends Mix will appear in the Made For You hub, but first you will need to create Blends for two people. These playlists serve as a starting point.
Creating one is very simple: all you have to do is invite a friend with whom you want to create a Blend. Spotify will automatically generate a playlist based on your and your guest’s taste in music. Do this two more times and you’ll have a Friends Mix playlist. Spotify claims that the Friends Mix is updated daily, so there should be something new to listen to every day as long as your friends update their Blends.
where to get it
Friends Mix is currently available as part of a new Spotify update available to Free and Premium users globally. The update is on the iOS and desktop app, but not on Android yet, which is pretty weird.
Spotify features are usually released on Android and iOS at the same time, but sometimes iPhones are first. Case in point, Swipe to Queue was recently added to Spotify on Android after being on iOS for years, according to 9to5 Google.
We reached out to Spotify and asked if Friends Mix will come to Android. A rep got back to us and simply repeated the fact that it’s available for iOS and desktop. No information about Android support, at least for now.
I hope Friends Mix on Android doesn’t take years to come out.
Expanding music discovery
Spotify’s latest updates are really pushing the community side to expand music discovery.
Not long ago, the Community tab finally moved from desktop app to mobile so you can see what your friends are listening to anytime. And let’s not forget about the tool behind Friends Mix, Blend, where you can create a massive playlist with up to 10 people. But there is a third-party tool that people seem to have forgotten about.
the aptly named Forget is a discovery engine that digs up songs with virtually zero plays on Spotify. For obscure music fans, it’s a great way to find those cool songs patiently waiting to be discovered. ‘s Becky Scarrott herself experimented with Forgotify and was exposed to an eclectic mix of ska, concert and German house music.
For music fans, we recommend checking out our newly updated best music streaming services for 2022 (opens in new tab).