In January 2018, Spotify quietly launched a new app called ‘Stations’ in Australia, offering a lean-back personal-radio experience rather than full on-demand music access.
“With Stations, you can listen immediately, and switching stations is simple and seamless – no searching or typing needed. As you listen, it learns what you like and creates personalised stations that you’ll love,” was the pitch at the time.
In May this year, the app expanded from Android to iOS, but still only in Australia. Now that’s changed too: Billboard reports that Spotify Stations is now available for Android and iOS in the US too. It comes with a clear warning that it remains a test.
“Stations is an experiment by Spotify, and we’re always looking for ways to make it better,” as its app-store listing puts it. Or in the company’s spokesperson’s words: “At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of experiments to create better listening experiences for our users. Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. Spotify Stations is one of those tests.”
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