Spotify’s new Jam features lets you listen to playlists with friends
Spotify isn’t standing still: after its TikTok-style revamp and the introduction of an AI-powered DJ – among other new features, the streaming service is now adding a collaborative playlist feature called Jam.
The idea is that you are at a party with friends and don’t want one or two people to dominate the playlist. Jam allows anyone with a Spotify account to join in, queue up songs and even get recommendations on what to play. Spotify takes everyone’s listening habits into account and makes some suggestions.
In the words of Spotify itselfit’s a “personalized, real-time listening session that your group can tune in together” that “takes some of our popular social features and combines them with our personalization technology to take real-time listening with friends to the next level.”
It’s basically a mix of what you can already do on Spotify with collaborative playlists and Blend (which merges different people’s tastes into one playlist), but it works in real time, has queue management controls, and is available alone for people on the same Wi-Fi network.
Start a jam
To start a Spotify Jam from the mobile app, tap the speaker icon at the bottom of the screen, or the three dots on the side of a playlist, album, or song to reveal the option. You can also choose where it plays, for example on a phone or a speaker.
From there you can share the Jam playlist via a link, have your friends scan the QR code you generated, or tap your phone with a friend who also has the Spotify app open (assuming both devices have Bluetooth enabled).
Anyone can submit songs and see who added which track. The Jam host can delete songs or group members and change the order of the playlist, but it is also possible to grant guests these rights.
The feature is rolling out to Spotify users today, so as long as your app is up to date you should be able to see it. Only Premium subscribers can start Jams, but all Spotify users can get involved in managing it.