Spotify is giving listeners new tools to shape the recommendations delivered to the app’s home feed.
The music streaming giant on Wednesday began rolling out a feature called “Taste Profiles” to premium subscribers in the United States. For the first time, users will be able to see how Spotify understands their preferences across music and other audio. Users can request changes using natural language commands to fine-tune recommendations or make broader changes.
Spotify’s AI-powered Taste Profile was announced by Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström at the SXSW conference in Austin in March. However, this feature was initially available in beta only to listeners based in New Zealand.
The feature is now being rolled out to Spotify’s largest market in terms of traffic and revenue, and will undergo larger testing among listeners 18 and older.
In a way, taste profiles essentially provide the key to Spotify’s algorithm. This is how the streaming platform chooses the music and podcasts it suggests, including its flagship Discover Weekly playlist, Made for You picks, and the coveted annual review known as Spotify Wrapped.
While Spotify’s algorithmic understanding of listener habits is largely believed to be the secret to its success, those recommendations don’t necessarily reflect users’ evolving preferences. The platform often recommends music that is too similar for users looking to branch out.
Spotify users can now request more diversity, or request more or less of a particular genre, artist, or overall vibe by directly editing their taste profile.
This feature allows you to remove recommendations based on music that users stream regularly but don’t necessarily want to see more of, such as sleep sounds that play at night or music that teens play in the car on their parent’s account.
Until now, Spotify has offered some options to remove music from your taste profile, but you could only exclude specific tracks or playlists. Most recently, the company added a much-requested toggle switch that prevents children’s music from influencing parental recommendations.
To access your Taste Profile on the mobile app, first tap your profile picture, scroll down and select (Taste Profile). From here, you can find out how Spotify currently understands your tastes across music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Enter the details you would like to adjust in (Please provide details) and send the message.
After a few hours, another set of suggestions will be reflected on the app’s home page.
Spotify says this feature can be used if you want to adjust the mood of your music, such as when you want to explore a new genre or era but don’t know where to start, or if you want a track with more energy. You can also tell Spotify what kinds of podcasts and audiobooks you’d like to see to better shape your recommendations.
This feature is still in beta. The company did not provide a timeline for when it would reach a wider audience.
If you make a purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect editorial independence.
