In a recent internship application, I was asked if I could only keep one application on my iPhone, which would I choose? I loved this question so much that I wanted to share my thoughts with the Her Campus audience as well.
Honestly, I had a difficult decision to make. The Messages or Phone apps seemed like obvious choices because of their essential nature. Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok were also strong contenders, as compulsive social media use seems to be the defining characteristic of my generation.
But instead, I choose Spotify as the solitary app on my device. While I would essentially be left with only a glorified iPod touch, I could not survive without this streaming service. Music supplements almost everything I do in life—jazz music plays while I make my meals, study tunes motivate me to do my homework, and sleep songs soothe me to bed.
And when I consider what makes an app worthy of my choice, I want to be entertained, connect with loved ones, and stay informed. In this sense, Spotify is a triple threat.
Besides the obvious entertainment value of streaming any song and curating personalized playlists, Spotify also allows you to discover new music. Every Monday morning, I listen to my Discover Weekly playlist of new songs that match my music taste. And every Friday morning, I listen to my Release Radar playlist of music recently released by my favorite artists. Just the thought of surrendering these sacred weekly rituals is unbearable.
Spotify also invites a social experience for users with its many collaboration aspects. The app allows you to invite friends to be mutual creators of a shared playlist, while their latest ‘Blend’ feature merges two users’ music tastes into a playlist that updates daily.
Spotify users have access to more than just music, however, with audio content that ranges from true-crime podcasts to newly released audiobooks. The app has also become my primary news source, with broadcasts that explain the day’s biggest stories in the time it takes me to walk to class.
Spotify also wins my gold star because, as an aspiring Public Relations professional, I have an eye for genius marketing strategies like Spotify Wrapped. Every December, Spotify releases a musical year-in-review, summarizing the user’s listening data by their top songs and artists, total listening time, and more. It offers shareable graphics which quickly take over social media, as everyone loves to boast of their elite music taste or obsession with an underground artist. The campaign has become a cultural staple equivalent to Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Lattes and has thus cemented Spotify into pop culture’s hall-of-fame.
My candid love for Spotify tells you that I should not only be hired as their spokesperson but also that I made the right decision for my app. At least with this choice on my device, I still don’t have to lug around a CD player, pay 99 cents for every song, or rely on the radio ever again.