Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' smashes first day streaming records

Taylor Swift's Folklore is raking in its streams, breaking several first-day streaming records since its release on July 24. Folklore now sets the global record for first-day album streams on Spotify by a female artist with 80.6 million streams. On Apple Music, it's the most-streamed album in 24 hours with 35.47 streams. And it has set indie/alternative streaming records in the US and worldwide on Amazon Music, though we don't get official figures. Swift's representatives have confirmed that the album sold over 1.3 million copies worldwide within the first 24 hours of its release.

The pop star announced the surprise album on social on Thursday, July 23, which she was inspired to make and release since the coronavirus pandemic hit and affected her plans to tour her previous album, Lover. You can check out the lead single of the record in the music video above.

Source: NME

Spotify introduces new podcast charts feature

You can now check out the "Top" and "Trending" Podcasts in the country with this new Spotify feature. The streaming service introduces these new podcast charts to 26 markets, including Canada. It's accessible through the Podcasts section. And that can be seen if you head to the Search tab on mobile. These charts are only available on iOS and Android to show you the latest and greatest podcasts. The Top Podcasts list the top 200 shows in the selected region or category, while Trending Podcasts show the 50 "rapidly rising shows." Some markets—including Brazil, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, the UK, and the US—can even separate the Top Podcasts by category. You can also check out the participating countries' rankings through the "Podcast charts by country option."

Source: Spotify

Spotify helps you create a personalized workout playlist

A sample Spotify workout playlist we created using the new generator

Spotify has a new playlist generator to help curate your next workout playlist. It combines your taste and your quiz answers to build the playlist for you. It asks you how long your workout session is, with the selection ranging from 15 minutes to two hours; whether you want it to be a mix of music and podcasts or not; and if you're okay with adding explicit content.  

You need to put what kind of workout you're going to do. There are options like yoga, cardio, biking, lifting, dance, and more. It'll then inquire if you're working out by yourself, with a partner, with kids, and the like. The quiz generator will then ask for the "workout vibe" you're going for, options include "Totally Zen," "Get Movin'," "Pumped Up," and more. You then need to pick one to two genres you'd like to listen to. 

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Spotify tests redesign of desktop app, looks similar to web player

Spotify might be thinking to unify its desktop app and web player. App researcher Jane Manchun Wong spotted the potential redesign, which she noted looks almost the same as the web player. Controls are more or less the same, but this means it could be less confusing to jump from the web app to the desktop app. 

Some users have already reported getting the new interface, but are complaining about things like not being able to sort playlists by name, song date, etc.; search for songs within playlists; or receive a warning if you're adding a duplicate song to the playlist. But again, this is still a test, and we hope Spotify improves usability. It isn't clear yet if more users will be getting the new version. Wong also mentions that lyrics are coming to the desktop, too.