Spotify's best music discovery feature embarrassed me — and I didn't see it coming

I have Spotify and YouTube Music subscriptions because both offer something unique.

There are more commonalities than differences between the two. This is why the comparison comes. However, in my view, Spotify wins in most cases.

I also felt the same about Spotify’s Go to song radio feature. It was a clear winner in my book, as it felt far better than YouTube’s Start mixes capability in terms of recommending the right tracks.

I would have sung the same praises about Spotify’s Go to song radio even today, but it recently disappointed me big time.

I am partly to blame for this, as I couldn’t spot the issue until I used it to play party songs at one of my niece’s birthdays.

It felt embarrassing when Spotify’s Go to song radio failed at something it absolutely shouldn’t have. It made me replay the same song right from the start.

It is unacceptable coming from a music streaming giant like Spotify.

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Posts 11
By  Irene Okpanachi

What does Spotify’s Go to song radio do, and how does it work?

Spotify Radio is designed to help users create a personalized playlist based on a specific song, artist, or album.

So, if you like a particular song on an album, go to its playing screen, tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner, scroll, and select the Go to song radio option.

On Spotify, this will create a personalized playlist, containing songs inspired by that track on the album. Spotify gets it right most of the time, including songs that truly sound familiar to the originals.

If you are a YouTube Music user, think of this as an equivalent to the Start mixes feature. It does the same, and it does it better than Spotify, at least in one aspect.

How did Spotify’s Radio feature put me in an embarrassing situation?

It all happened during one of my nieces’ birthday parties, where I was in charge of the tunes. This was the first time I played Spotify around other people.

I usually avoid this, but I couldn’t turn down my niece’s request on a special occasion. I wasn’t prepared for this because I don’t have a playlist suitable for a birthday party event.

So, I had no other option but to rely on Spotify’s Go to song radio option.

The plan was to find one great party song and then use the Radio functionality to tell Spotify to play the same kind of song continuously.

I thought Spotify Radio saved the day for me, but little did I know it would ruin the musical atmosphere for a good half an hour.

It wasn’t all Spotify’s fault, though. I forgot to start the Radio playlist I created, so Spotify didn’t automatically move the Radio playlist.

After the party song ended, it kept playing songs, but entirely different ones from what I saw on the Radio playlist.

It kept playing older party tracks. None of them matched with the ones on the Radio playlist, which contained tracks from both older and newer releases.

A few of the teen guests were the first to point it out, and that’s when I spotted what was wrong with Spotify’s Radio feature.

Spotify’s Radio playlist gets one simple thing wrong about user behavior

And it should learn from YouTube Music

When you create a Radio playlist, Spotify doesn’t automatically switch to it after the current song ends. So, you’ll need to start the playlist manually.

This means you’ll play the current song again from the beginning or go directly to the second track on the Radio.

Either way, it breaks the flow. I was aware of this even before my niece’s birthday party, but I never paid it enough attention until I made that mistake.

As someone who also uses YouTube Music, I was disappointed with myself for not finding out the flaw sooner.

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On YouTube Music, you don’t need to start the playlist manually. After you tap the Start mixes option, it’ll automatically start playing songs inspired by the original track.

This means there is no awkward moment where you start playing the same song again or skipping.

I would’ve been saved from embarrassment that day had I used YouTube Music instead of Spotify to play music.

Spotify’s Radio playlist is only good at music discovery

Both the Go to song radio and Start mixes are great for discovering music, especially if you use filters on top of the playlist.

The problem with Spotify is that its Radio playlists are only good for discovering new music. It needs that extra step from you.

Maybe it’s not a flaw; perhaps that’s by design. It becomes clearer when you compare the names “Start mixes” and “Go to song radio.”

The Go to song radio functionality helps you go to the personalized playlist, whereas the “Start mixes” actually starts playback behind the scenes.

As a user, I don’t care what the names imply, as long as it works the way I expect. Right now, Spotify’s Radio playlist doesn’t.