Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Spotify announces major changes to help users find new music, adds Metallica

By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Passing one million U.S. paying subscribers and its one-year anniversary, Spotify is celebrating with updates. The music streaming service is changing the way users find music by adding two new features: brand new Follow and Discover tabs. Spotify is implementing these changes to help users find new music and discover new artists. According to Daniel Ek, CEO and founder at Spotify, users continually express the need for help in finding music to listen to, and apparently artists have told the company that they want to connect more with fans.

The Follow tab will allow users to follow friends and artists to see what they’re listening to in real-time. According to Spotify, users can follow dozens of celebrities, artists, and media outlets, including President Barack Obama, Katy Perry, and People Magazine. Spotify continues to utilize it’s deep Facebook integration, allowing listeners to use the Follow feature to follow Facebook friends and see what they’re listening to whenever they’re using the Spotify app. 

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Discover tab helps users find new music from recommendations straight from Spotify. According to a press release, the new Discover tab “provides a feed that continually seeks out the most relevant content using technology and social tools, bringing recommendations right to the user.”

Recommended Videos

Trying to find new music can be a huge hassle, but Spotify has made that a lot easier. Users can send playlists to each other, and subscribe to playlists by popular sources like Digster. Now, the Discover feature will transform that process again. Using sources like Pitchfork, Songkick, and Tunigo, Spotify will recommend new music to you. According to the press release, the Discover tab will let users find “new single and album releases from the artists you follow,” sift through “music and playlists shared by influencers you follow,” and feature “intelligent recommendations based on your listening history including music, reviews, and concerts.” 

Spotify has also added a “preview” feature, which allows users to preview music without moving away from the song they’re currently listening to. Using the preview function, you can save the song for later, or play it immediately. In addition, a new “Collection” feature allows you to store songs without creating a new playlist, and mobile push notifications are available for album releases you are waiting for. Now, you won’t ever miss when one of your favorite artists releases a new album. 

In addition to these changes, Spotify announced today that it finally reached an agreement with Metallica. Now, the entire 30-year catalogue of the rock band will be available on Spotify. 

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Spotify’s changes are geared towards users who are hoping to find new music using the music streaming service. As Spotify users, we’re excited; and it seems like the folks at Spotify are as well. “Our music influences are as individual as we are,” Ek said. “Maybe you discover new songs or artists by reading reviews, listening to the radio, or sharing with friends. Maybe you go to a lot of concerts, love making cool playlists, or want to know what the people you care about are getting in to. Spotify now brings all of this together.”

The changes will be implemented in the coming weeks, but we’re still waiting to hear about the browser-based version the company promised back in November.

Topics
Ian Kar
Ian Kar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ian Kar writes mostly about technology and entertainment news. He loves writing about Apple products, rumors about gadgets…
Dell’s XPS 13 for $599 deal is back, and who knows for how long
The Dell XPS 13 in front of a window.

Dell almost always has great laptop deals and for a little while now, it’s been selling an older model of the Dell XPS 13 for just $599. That deal continues today but we’re really not sure how long it’s going to stick around for. It feels like it must be ending very soon. The laptop usually costs $799 so you’re saving $200 but overall, this is a fantastic deal for the hardware involved. If you’re keen to learn more before the deal ends, keep reading.

Why you should buy the Dell XPS 13
Dell is one of the best laptop brands out there so you simply can’t go wrong with purchasing from it. With this model, you get a 12th-generation Intel Core i5-1230U processor along with 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage. There’s also a 13.4-inch full HD+ screen with 1920 x 1200 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and anti-glare properties. That’s fairly standard stuff at this price but it’s the build quality of the Dell XPS 13 which makes it stand out so much.

Read more
M4 vs. M3: How much better are Apple’s latest chips?
An official rendering of the Apple M4 chip.

Apple has announced the M4 chip, its successor to the M3 that’s currently found in a bunch of Macs and iPads. The M3 is an excellent chip and a real leap above the M2 that came before it, so the question is whether the M4 can manage a similar feat.

Right now, the M4 is only in the iPad Pro, and that means information about how good it is and what it does is rather limited. But if you’re interested in finding out more, you’re in luck, as we’ve gathered up everything we know about Apple’s M4 chip and compared it side by side with the M3. If you want to learn more about Apple’s next chip -- and how it compares to the M3 -- read on.
Where can you find these chips?

Read more
iMac deals: New, renewed and refurbished iMac computers
Apple iMac with Retina 5K Display review close

If you're in the Apple ecosystem and need a desktop computer rather than something like a MacBook, then you'll want to go for the Apple iMac, which is one of the best all-in-one computers on the market. There are quite a few screen sizes and specs to pick from, and if you're willing to go for a renewed option, you can get some older yet still powerful iMacs for a great price with desktop deals. Even if you aren't, there are still some great Apple deals you can take advantage of to save yourself some money, which is why we went out and scoured the internet for the best deals we could find. If you need something portable, check out MacBook deals. For extra savings, check out refurbished MacBook deals.
Apple 21.5-inch iMac (2018) Renewed -- $409, was $460

Even cheaper than any of the MacBook deals going on, this Apple 21.5-inch iMac (2018) might be a few years old but it offers plenty of juice for the price. That's the beauty behind many iMacs -- they last a long time thanks to offering reliable hardware and the benefits of MacOS, which tends to mean they stay fast for awhile. In the case of the 2018 21.5-inch iMac, you get a 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor paired up with 16GB of memory which is a great set of specs for ensuring you can get plenty of work done.

Read more