Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Spotify Adds ‘Behind the Lyrics’ Playlists, Powered by Lyrics Site Genius

The streaming-music site is hoping to distinguish itself and outpace Apple Music.

Spotify

Spotify likes playlists, and it thinks you do, too.

Today, Spotify is rolling out its newest feature: “Behind the Lyrics” playlists put together by the Wikipedia-but-for-music service Genius. Users on iPhones will be able to look at cards with tweets from the artists, news snippets, song lyrics and other related material.

selena gomez spotify behind the lyrics geniusThis week, Spotify listeners can peruse lyrics and annotations of songs on the “Behind the Lyrics (Hip Hop)” playlist, information supplied by Genius. Also available today are customized playlists from rapper Pusha T, DJ Diplo and singer Tinashe. Next week, Spotify will be launching a “Behind the Lyrics (Hits)” playlist for Top 40-style music.

In July, Spotify added the “Discover” music playlist, a personalized set of songs put together by a computer that analyzes what users listen to. Tech bloggers, and presumably a lot of Spotify customers, really like “Discover.”

Spotify is locked in a battle with on-demand listening rival Apple Music for premium subscribers who pay $10 a month to listen to on-demand music without ads. Last June, Spotify said it had around 20 million paid subscribers, and news recently dropped that Apple Music had broken the 10 million subscriber mark.

Features like “Discover Weekly” or “Behind the Lyrics” playlists are one way in which Spotify is trying to distinguish itself, while Apple has invested heavily in efforts like its Beats 1 Internet radio service.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh