The app and the player won’t be available after May 16.
The Experimental Spotify Stations App
Since 2018, Spotify has been experimenting with Stations. It’s a lightweight app that can be accessed by free and paid subscribers.
Spotify quietly released it for Android in 2018. It was designed for quick station listening. It’s totally free and it’s the easiest way to listen to the type of music you love, according to Spotify.
It debuted in Australia before it became available widely in the US.
The app reduces the steps necessary to listen to your favorite music. As soon as you open the app, it will start playing.
All playlists are presented in a large font. To use the app, you don’t necessarily type or search.
If you’re a free user, you get ads. Premium subscribers don’t have to deal with them. Plus, they can skip tracks when they are using the app.
It was only in 2019 that Spotify launched an iOS version and made it available in the US.
The Test is Over
Unfortunately, the app was just experimental. The testing is over and the company wants to shut it down.
If you have been using Stations and have curated lists, you can transfer them to the main app.
One of the things that people liked about the app is that it would start playing as soon as you open it. You could swap across stations or playlists.
But there was no way for you to choose specific artists or tracks. You could return to a station and it would start right where it left off.
The stations available have presets. You could also create them by choosing your favorite artists. From there, the app would attempt to personalize your experience over time.
In a statement to TechCrunch,
“Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. Our Spotify Stations Beta was one of those tests. We will be sunsetting the current feature, but users will be able to easily transfer their favorite stations and enjoy a similar radio experience directly within the Spotify app.”
If you liked the app, you can still enjoy it by going to the main app. Spotify offers an improved radio experience. It now includes personalized stations, news, and music playlists designed for drivers.
A Pandora Copycat
Spotify Stations is a copycat of Pandora because it supports instant music playback. It’s appealing to users who like a simpler UI. It also offers a minimalist listening experience.
In April, Spotify announced that it was going to add live auto programs. It’s going to rebrand its Greenroom to Spotify Live. It will be available as a standalone app and a feature in the main app. The standalone app will be available to all independent creators. If listeners want to participate in a chat, they can use Spotify Live app.
Greenroom or Spotify Live is a competitor for Clubhouse. It was built on Locker Room. It’s an app created by Betty Labs that has been acquired by Spotify in March.
