There’s a flurry of headlines along the lines of ‘Spotify tests its own version of stories’ today, referring to the ephemeral posts that have become the driving force for apps like Instagram and Snapchat. That’s not quite the case: Spotify *is* testing a new feature called ‘Storyline’, but it’s not about the company’s 217 million listeners creating stories. Instead, it’s about artists providing more context around their tracks – a companion feature of sorts to the Genius-powered ‘Behind the Lyrics’ feature in Spotify’s mobile app.
Accessed from the app’s ‘Now Playing’ screen, the feature sits below ‘Behind the Lyrics’ and uses a similar ‘card’ structure, with fans tapping to move between cards offering extra context on the track and thoughts from the artist.
Tech site Android Police was first to report on the new feature, while TechCrunch followed up to get the familiar “We are always testing new ways to create better experiences for more users” quote from Spotify. Music Ally has the feature working in the UK, so the test isn’t US-only, with Billie Eilish and Jonas Brothers among the artists involved.
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