Amazon Music announced a new beta feature called “Fan Groups” that enables users to build their own communities for sharing information and opinions about their favorite music genres and artists. The feature, testing now in Canada on iOS and Android, encourages music fans to listen to songs shared within the groups and interact via chat threads and user posts, while driving new music discovery in the process. Artists will also have the ability to join groups, providing an opportunity to share exclusive content and interact directly with their fans. “The new destination transforms music listening into an interactive community for fans without having to leave the app,” explains Amazon. Continue reading Amazon Music Touts Community with ‘Fan Groups’ Beta Test

Spotify passed 700 million monthly active users in Q3, with subscribers hitting 281 million, a 12 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Total revenue was $4.9 billion, up 12 percent year-over-year, while net income surged 200 percent to $1 billion, attributed to price hikes, subscriber growth and strict cost management. The Swedish company surpassed analyst expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Revenue from premium subscriptions grew 9 percent in Q3. Advertising revenue for the period was down 6 percent, however, to about $515 million. Spotify recently integrated with ChatGPT so that users can get podcast and music recommendations from the popular chatbot. Continue reading Spotify’s Profits Surge 200 Percent for Q3, Topping $1 Billion

Amazon’s generative AI voice assistant Alexa+ is coming to the Amazon Music mobile app for iOS and Android for customers across all subscription tiers in Alexa+ Early Access. Alexa+ was announced in February at Amazon’s Devices & Services event, and began rolling out in early access in the spring. It is reported to now have more than a million users. Customers were able to get early access by registering for it on the Amazon website or purchasing a compatible product. Adding generative AI to Amazon Music is seen as a competitive move following Spotify’s October integration with OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT. Continue reading Alexa+ for iOS and Android Now Available for Amazon Music

Deezer, the Paris-based music streamer, has teamed with TikTok to let users share songs, playlists and listening data on the mobile video platform. Listening stats from “My Deezer Month” and “My Deezer Year” can now be shared straight to TikTok. The move expands a relationship TikTok initiated last year when it added Deezer to its “Add to Music” program. The collaboration gives Deezer, which claims 9.6 million subs, broader reach while providing TikTok users a way to connect over shared interests. Also this month, Deezer added a protocol that allows music to be shared on other streaming music platforms. Continue reading Deezer Partners with TikTok to Let Fans Share Music and Data

Amazon Music has a new AI-powered personalization feature called Weekly Vibe that is designed to keep playlists fresh and prevent listeners from tiring of the same songs. The feature is available to iOS and Android users in the U.S. across all subscription tiers. Every Monday, Weekly Vibe will update playlists to reflect recent listening choices, taking into account musical interests and moods. It will also suggest new music based on demonstrated patterns and preferences. Weekly Vibe builds on the Maestro AI playlist generator Amazon Music launched in beta last year. Continue reading Amazon Music Adds Weekly Vibe AI Playlists Across All Tiers

Four years after its announcement, Spotify Lossless is arriving for Premium subscribers, offering HD-quality sound for just about every song in the catalog. The reveal was issued by Spotify VP of Subscriptions Gustav Gyllenhammar, who attributed the delay to “time to build this feature in a way that prioritizes quality” and ease of use. Spotify Lossless enables streaming in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC. Lossless joins the previous settings of Low, Normal, High and Very High for data management across Wi-Fi, cellular and downloads. Spotify has also added Smart Filters for better playlist building. Continue reading Spotify Delivers New Lossless Audio Tech for Premium Subs

After 10 years of YouTube Music, global fans have created over 4 billion music playlists — including 1.8 billion public lists — and now the Google-owned platform is celebrating its decade landmark by adding new features to connect music fans. Coming soon are playlist comments that will appear directly on album and song lists “to keep the conversation going around the music you love.” Also new to the menu, “taste match” playlists, which update each day based on the listening habits of those who join. Additionally, YouTube has entered into an exclusive arrangement with Bandsintown to help promote live performances and much more. Continue reading YouTube Music Touts 10 Years with Live, Interactive Features

Google has added a Gemini extension that lets users link their Spotify accounts and leverage the AI for music search and discovery. Currently only for Android in English, the app accepts spoken and text prompts to select music by song, album, artist or playlist using “Play & Search.” Only Spotify Premium subscribers will be able to request and play specific tunes on demand. And while users will be able to use Gemini to activate existing playlists or pipe music themed to an activity or mood (like workouts or romantic meals), it cannot create a Spotify playlist or radio. Continue reading Google Offers Spotify Extension for Gemini Mobile Ecosystem

Nintendo has released a new app designed to delight gaming fans who have embraced the music featured in popular games such as “Super Mario Bros.,” “The Legend of Zelda” or “Pokémon.” Nintendo Music parses nearly 40 years of musical history from the Japanese gamemaker, available free via the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service on iOS and Android. Users can stream songs or download for offline listening, building their own playlists to share or accessing Nintendo-curated programming. Recommendations will propagate based on a fan’s Nintendo Switch play activity. Continue reading Nintendo Music Debuts with 40 Years of Tunes for Switch Subs

In a move that may appeal to music fans as well as marketing professionals, ByteDance-owned video platform TikTok just announced the availability of a new promotional feature called “Share to TikTok” that enables users to share music, podcasts and audiobooks from Apple Music and Spotify to TikTok, directly from the share menus of the streaming services. Content shared to TikTok will feature links directing users to the original sources to foster discovery and engagement on the partnering services. The new feature follows the launch of “Add to Music App,” a tool for users to save songs they discover on the TikTok app to their streaming service of choice. Continue reading TikTok Introduces New Feature to Share and Promote Music

YouTube has added new features to its apps for mobile, Web and TV, including expanded controls for playback speeds, badges, a miniplayer redesign, and the ability to create collaborative playlists. The company is also debuting an authenticity tool. By affixing a “captured with a camera” label, creators can indicate their work is shot with an actual camera, with unaltered visual and audio. Among the general platform improvements that YouTube implements annually, users can now share playlists via link or QR code, and create custom thumbnails for those lists, either by uploading an image or generating one with AI. Continue reading YouTube Expands Features and Adds an Authentication Tool

Apple is giving bands the opportunity to turn their concert repertoires into Apple Music playlists with the Set List feature, which lets fans savor the live concert experience. Powered by Bandsintown, Set List enables artists to turn the songs from a single show, residency or tour into a playlist that in addition to being shared on Apple Music can be displayed on music app Shazam (Artist and Concert pages). Once a Set List is published, artists can use the Promote feature from the web or the Artists app on iOS to share the playlist with fans on social media. Continue reading Apple Helps Bands Promote Live Performances with ‘Set Lists’

Paris-based global streaming platform Deezer is fielding an AI playlist generator in an international beta launch. The move makes the indie-centric service more competitive with Spotify and Amazon Music, which have already been testing the feature. YouTube is reportedly also experimenting with AI-powered personalized radio. As of now, 5 percent of Deezer’s paid subscribers have been selected at random to try Playlist with AI, which creates playlists from text prompts that invoke moods, genres, decades, activities or “anything else that comes to mind,” according to Deezer. Continue reading Deezer Adds AI Playlists to Compete with Spotify and Amazon

Sweden-based digital music service Spotify has redesigned its television user interface to make it look and feel more like the platform’s desktop and mobile experiences, a move its users have been waiting for. The frequently played content now appears at the top of the interface, while playlists and favorites are also easily accessed. A playback queue that opens from the side of the screen lets you see what’s playing and program what’s coming up, and you can easily switch accounts by toggling profile options. A dark mode option has been added for the television interface as well. Continue reading Spotify Redesigns TV Interface to Better Match Its Mobile App

YouTube Music is rolling out an experimental feature that lets English-language users tap artificial intelligence to generate cover art for their playlists. Without leaving the app, creators can now “effortlessly explore from a range of visual themes and options to create one-of-a-kind cover art,” YouTube explains, adding the feature would be rolling out in different languages. That was one of a series of new personalization and discovery tools the streamer recently announced. The company is also adding “speed dial” so music fans can effortlessly revert to their favorite recent listening experiences. Continue reading YouTube Music Experiments with AI for Generating Cover Art