A year ago Spotify launched Stations, a music streaming app similar to free radio. Since then, little has been known about the platform, which until now was only available in Australia for Android devices. However, this week Spotify has launched app support for iOS devices. Such support remains exclusive to Australia but expands access to Stations in the region.
The Spotify Stations app was born as a simple and minimalist interface with large letters and limited functions. Its operation is similar to that of a radio, allows users to “tune in” to the predetermined stations displayed by the app.
In this sense, Stations registers the behavior of the users when listening to the songs and progressively personalizes the stations, making them more similar to their tastes. To do this, users can mark the songs they like with the thumbs up icon or, on the contrary, mark the song they do not like with the thumb icon below.
By checking which songs they like, users give information to the app, which later uses the same Spotify algorithm to create three stations: Discovery Weekly, Release Radar, and Favorites. Likewise, these stations are available in the Spotify app in the playlists format.
In addition, users can create their own station by selecting photos of their favorite artists. This function is reminiscent of that used by YouTube Music, which uses a similar system to customize the music selection of its users.
An element that refers to another of its competitors is the automatic music playback when the app is opened. In this sense, Stations is very similar to Pandora, another streaming app with a radial format, which since its launch includes this type of automatic background playback.
The extension of Stations to iOS and the creation of its own website are signs that the app continues to grow in its experimental phase. This could mean that in the near future the app will reach new markets. Until then, users must comply with the playlists curated by Spotify.
