Spotify is removing its inbox and messaging feature

We’ve always wished that Spotify’s inbox and messaging system were used by more people, and also that the streaming service would do more with the feature to encourage that. Sadly, the company is going the other way.

“We are currently in the process of deprecating the Inbox/Messages feature within the Spotify app,” wrote one of Spotify’s community managers on its forum this month.

“Extensive data analysis has shown that this feature has very low engagement. The huge disparity between the use of the feature and the manpower required to maintain it doesn’t merit keeping it running, so we’ve taken the difficult decision to remove it.”

Spotify plans to focus more on integrations with other messaging apps. The removal will take away one method by which artists can communicate directly with fans following their profiles on Spotify, as well as independent playlist-owners with followings on the service.

In separate news, Spotify’s responsiveness to user demands for features has been criticised by Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey, who notes that the most upvoted feature request in Spotify’s community is a five year-old suggestion for an ‘Explicit’ button to ensure songs with explicit language are skipped.

“Search for explicit lyrics & Spotify and you’ll get at least dozens, probably hundreds (I won’t take time to count but you are welcome to) of complaints. Lots of people claim to have left Spotify over it. Others continue to listen but are angry about it,” wrote McQuivey.

“I’ll admit I’m stupefied by Spotify’s unwillingness to add a button to skip tracks marked as explicit. The meta-data is there, the consumer demand is there.”

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