Spotify seems to have taken inspiration from YouTube Music for its next big feature. Daniel Ek, CEO of the Swedish streaming service, revealed that they are working on a feature that will allow users to continue listening to music when they lose their internet connection.
Said this way, it may not sound too flashy. Especially considering that Spotify allows you to download songs, albums, or entire playlists for offline listening. However, the new feature aims to offer something different.
As can be seen in a screenshot shared by the executive, the new Spotify feature is called Offline Mix. What it does is create a playlist of recently played songsso that users can continue to enjoy the service even if they have lost internet access.
As we indicated at the beginning, YouTube Music offers a similar option, called Offline Mixtape, since 2019. In fact, we can safely say that it is one of the few really good features offered by the Google-owned platform. This feature works thanks to the “smart downloads” that include those of Mountain View.
In the case of Spotify, it is not yet clear how the Offline Mix option will work. It is also not known when it will be available to the general public, considering that Ek has tweeted that the feature is under test. However, that he is encouraged to talk about it publicly may be a good sign that it will launch soon.
Spotify wants to offer a special playlist for when you’re offline
Getting back to how this new Spotify feature might work, there are some interesting potential hints. According to collect TechCrunch, some users have reported that the option is already available on their phone. Although one mentioned that, in his case, most of the songs on his playlist had not been previously downloaded for offline playback.
As it is a feature that is being tested, it is logical that there are certain inconsistencies. Also, the image Ek has shared explicitly says “a mix of your recently played songs”which makes us think that Spotify plans to replicate YouTube Music’s smart download model, which automatically saves recent activity until a certain number of songs is reached.
Another of the unknowns about Spotify’s Offline Mix is whether it will be available to all users, or only for Spotify Premium subscribers. Due to the nature of the function, it would not be strange if it were reserved for those who use the paid version of the service. But we will have to wait for its launch to learn more about it.
Spotify is going through a 2023 of many changes. Last March, the platform announced a drastic redesign of its apps, adopting an aesthetic inspired by TikTok. In addition, in April it became known that the service was breaking records with more than 500 million users per month. Although it has not all been good news. The company recently shut down Spotify Live, its failed Clubhouse clone born out of Greenroom.