Spotify has boomed at least with Gen Z’s creative utilization of the platform over the past couple of years. Of course, I can only speak from my limited experience. But the platform stands out from other music-streaming platforms in many aspects and thus I think it is superior. To preface, this might be a biased article given I only use Spotify, but have previously used platforms like Pandora, YouTube Music, Soundcloud, and Apple Music.
Spotify is a form of connection because of how it allows you to follow people and see what they are listening to, and also let others see what you are listening to. So, at any given time, you can check out if your friends are listening to music, and if so, what it is. Even better, you can check out your friend’s profiles to see their elaborate playlists as well as artists they follow. During this pandemic it has been so fun to connect to my friends in this way because whenever I get tired of my own collection of songs, I can check out their profiles for suggestions.
Spotify is also a creative outlet for the everyday music listener as well. You can organize and title playlists by moods, feelings, events, verbs, adjectives, anything you want really. Customizing the title of a playlist, editing the display picture, and even organizing the sequence of songs in the playlist makes you feel like part of the musical process. Even better, if you don’t want to make your own playlist, a quick search comes up with a playlist made by others for all kinds of occasions, thoughts, and feelings.
Check out some titles I found with a quick search of words:
- “75 minutes of calming minecraft music”
- “pov: ur screaming out ur car windows in the middle of the summer with friends”
- “really specific playlist name with no relation to the actual playlist”
- “studying in the Hogwarts library”
Spotify’s self-generated playlists for you. Spotify creates playlists for you nearly every week which include basic things like songs you repeat a lot or your Summer Rewind. Moreover, they analyze your current listening style and generate playlists with songs with similar vibes for you to check out. There are broader playlists as well including artists that are similar to your favorite artists, or best of a specific artist in 2020. They even have Daily Mix playlists with new artists that are refined as you listen to more music.
Finally, I’m not gonna lie, Spotify ads slap. It’s almost like every ad turns into a song, which is a nuisance at times, but hey at least I can continue my life while listening to some form of music (ad or not).