Spotify now offers option to disable 'Canvas' video snippets

If you're a Spotify user, you've seen the "Canvas" feature, which is looped video snippets some artists upload for some songs in place of album art. The company claims these only need to be streamed once and won't eat up data, even if they are played on loop. Some users aren't happy with the feature because it creates an inconsistent look when you're in a playlist with songs that don't have Canvases. It also slows down the experience when switching from one song to another.

Spotify is listening to users and is rolling out the option to disable this feature. You just need to head to settings to toggle it on or off. Our phones don't have the feature yet, so we're waiting for it to head our way. But you can check your device to see if it's made its way to you.

Source: Android Police

Spotify's new UI test hides repeat button in the menu

Spotify released a new user interface that some users are unhappy with. The new UI hid the "Repeat" and "Go to queue" button into a submenu. And in its place, the sharing button has been given more prominence. With this new look, you can access the feature through the three-dot menu in the upper right-hand corner of the Now Playing screen. Users who use the repeat button aren't happy with the change. When The Verge reached out to the company for comments, Spotify said, "We are always testing new products and features, nothing to share at the moment." 

Spotify grows its podcast ambitions with two new acquisitions

Embed from Getty Images

Spotify is building its podcast business through two new acquisitions. The music streaming service acquired Gimlet Media and Anchor. The former is a startup podcast network, while the latter provides creators with tools to help them build, publish, and monetize podcasts. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek claims the company is now the second-biggest podcasting platform and that its podcast users “spend almost twice the time on the platform, and spend even more time listening to music.” And it wants to provide these users with more original programming as well as entice potential listeners to turn their platform into “the world’s number one audio platform.”

The company plans to invest more into podcasts this 2019 and said that it’s willing to spend around US$500 million to grow its podcast business. According to Recode, Spotify paid around US$230 million on Gimlet alone.

Soon you’ll be able to mute and block artists you don’t like on Spotify

Right now you can only tell Spotify you don't like an artist through personalized playlists like Release Radar

Spotify first tried introducing this feature back in 2017 but decided against it “after serious consideration.” But the company looks like it’s reversing its decision. The company is currently testing this “don’t play this artist” feature in its newest iOS app. It’ll let you block an entire artist from appearing in your library, playlist, chart list, or even radio stations on your Spotify account. So, if you’d rather not hear from an artist you don’t like or are protesting against. You’ll soon be able to block them out, hopefully on a lot of platforms Spotify is available on.

Source: The Verge