Articles about Music

Thanks to what will seem like a somewhat unlikely pairing to many, it is now possible to access Spotify in ChatGPT. With the two services having partnered, you can now use tracks and podcasts to achieve things with the AI chat bot.

There are various possibilities here – from asking ChatGPT to create new playlists based on the tracks you like to receive recommendations about podcasts you may enjoy. While the ability to use Spotify in conjunction with ChatGPT is free, there are more options available to Spotify Premium subscribers.

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The Spotify recommendation algorithm is problematic, and easily sent askew by random tracks you listen to. The company has just announced that it is rolling out the option for users around the world to exclude individual tracks

This may sound like something we’ve heard before, but previous exclusion options have related to playlists. Now you can stop that one song your kid keeps listening to from causing your recommendations to be in a similar vein.

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Suno has launched Suno Studio, a generative audio workstation that combines professional multi-track editing with AI-powered stem generation.

AI generated music is a bit of a problem for the industry -- as proven by Spotify’s recent announcement that it will be clamping down on spammy tracks and artist impersonation -- but Suno Studio is being presented as a new way for songwriters, producers, and aspiring artists to create music.

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It is not very often that companies give users more for free, but this is exactly what Spotify is doing. Having just recently announced that Premium subscribers are gaining access to lossless audio, Spotify is giving users on its free tier something extra as well.

As part of a major change to its treatment of users who do not pay for a subscription, Spotify now lets free users search for and play any song they want. There is no longer a need to wait for an album or playlist to reach the song you want, or use those valuable skips. Here is what you need to know.

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There are many reasons to love Spotify, and just as many to dislike it. One of its many failings has been the fact that audio quality has been – to be diplomatic – less than perfect.

Now, thanks to the long-awaited arrival of lossless audio, this is finally changing. The ability to hear tracks at the best possible quality is something that will be celebrated by Spotify users... but not everyone.

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Spotify, which three weeks ago announced plans to raise its prices again, has launched an in-app feature called Messages that gives users a new way to share music, podcasts, and audiobooks directly with friends and family. The rollout starts this week for Free and Premium users, with the company describing it as a more personal way to recommend content.

Millions of users already share tracks, shows, and audiobooks on Spotify across social media and messaging platforms. Messages will provide a central space for that sharing inside the app, while keeping external sharing options such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok intact.

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Spotify has announced an increase in subscription prices for users around the world. For now, the US does not get a mention, but with fees being raised in pretty much every region, it is hard to imagine that the same will not happen stateside as well.

The new pricing is due to kick in for existing subscribers in September, but sooner for new subscribers.

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Facebook posts take many forms – images, videos, links, reels, and text. The company has tweaked and added to the posting options over the years and has now just announced a neat new option for text-based posts.

Just as is possible on other social media platforms, Facebook users are being given the chance to embellish their text posts with background music. Working in a similar way to adding background music toa video post, there is a limit library of tracks to choose from.

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Spotify and Android Auto is a perfect pairing, and with the latest update to the app things just got even better. There is something of a UX-enhancing face-lift to the app, but the update also sees the arrival of new collaborative playlist options.

Jams are not usually a good thing on car journeys, but in the case of Spotify Jam it’s a little different. The feature lets everyone in the vehicle add their own music to a queue and create a playlist that will include something for everyone’s taste.

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Spotify remains one of the most popular music streaming services currently available, but popularity does not mean perfection. There are many things that Spotify users complain about, such as the oddities of the discovery algorithms. The company is getting better at listening to feedback and is taking steps to improve things.

Spotify has just announced new tools and controls to help with music discovery, playlist curation and recommendations. There’s something for everyone to benefit from, so let’s take a look at what’s new.

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WhatsApp is primarily about keeping in touch with people, be that friends, family, colleagues, businesses or some other group. But there is also the option to update your Status to indicate what you’re up to, how you’re feeling, or any other number of creative possibilities.

Now WhatsApp has opened up a new option -- adding music to Status updates. This gives you the option of complementing a photo or video Status with a backing track, and WhatsApp says it has millions of songs that you can use.

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The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard is decades old, but still going strong. It continues to serve musicians, making it possible to reliably connect a range of instruments to computers. With the latest update to Windows 11, Microsoft ushers in some significant MIDI improvements.

The launch of Windows 11 build 27788 sees the arrival of Windows MIDI Services Public Preview. Microsoft describes this as “our complete rewrite of MIDI on Windows with a focus on a great experience for musicians and a strong foundation for future expansion and enhancement”. Importantly, there is now full support for MIDI 2.0.

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Not content with providing access to music on demand, it did not take long for Spotify to branch out and start hosting podcasts. More recently, audiobooks were introduced, and now the company has announced a series of new audiobook features.

Books and video may not seem like natural bedfellows, but this is one of the things that is currently being tested. Other new features include author pages which are similar to artist pages, and an interesting “follow-along” option.

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With mobiles connected to the internet on a near-permanent basis, it is easy to take for granted. This means that whenever a connection is not available, it is very apparent. Now Spotify is taking steps to help reduce the impact of a loss of connection.

While it is already possible to create offline playlists, this is something that needs to be done manually and it’s all too easy to find yourself on a flight with the sudden realization that you forgot to set it up. And this is precisely where the new Offline Backup mode helps, creating offline playlists automatically, based on your recent listening.

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Streaming music service Spotify has announced Jam, a group playlist feature that can be used by up to 32 people. Spotify describes the new social feature as a "personalized, real-time listening session for your group to tune into together".

It is, in many ways, an amalgamation of several existing features of Spotify, such as Blend, personalized playlists and collaborative playlists. All users of Spotify -- free and paying -- are able to contribute to a Jam, but the ability to create them is limited to Premium Subscribers.

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