Howdy everybody! Thanks for being here for the latest Spotify Newsletter!

— On Wednesday a global panic ensued when Spotify was down. Luckily Spotify fixed its outage toots sweet, with the streaming app back and running for most people. Madness, I tell ya.

— Less than a year after Spotify acquired Heardle, the game is headed for the junk bin next month as the audio giant is shutting it down. The musical guessing game was all the rage last July, when Spotify acquired it for an undisclosed sum.

To be honest, I had forgotten all about it and wasn’t remotely interested when Spotify made the acquisition. Clearly I’m not the only one as the game did not produce any meaningful engagement Spotify had been hoping to see.

The game was never looped into the Spotify app, which might have had something to do with the lack of activity.

— The creative machines are really on the march for total domination. "Heart On My Sleeve," the AI-generated fake song by Drake and The Weeknd, amassed 15 million views on TikTok and 600,000 Spotify streams.

Then it was dragged off all platforms as UMG unleashed copyright hell — all but firing the starting gun for what is shaping up to be a long and chaotic race between artists and AI.

Spotify is sure to be a top of the bill player in this new battle between the music industry and the AI music generators.

AI music is going mainstream. There’s no denying that. Whether we’re headed for sunny days or dark days remains to be seen. The Guardian’s headline - We soon won’t tell the difference between AI and human music – so can pop survive? - puts a fine point on what we’re dealing with. It’s a mammoth mash-up of creativity and technology and the party/fight is just getting started.

Have a terrific weekend!

★In the SPOTlight★

⭐️ Your BeReal posts can now include what you’re listening to on Spotify

BeReal encourages users to take a photo everyday at a random time with their front and back camera in order to show an authentic version of themselves. Spotify says its integration with the company adds another layer of authenticity to the daily posts.

⭐️ India Is Driving Spotify’s Global Growth — Will Revenue Follow?

With 10 billion streams in January alone, the app has become the country's leader in monthly streams -- but India still isn't a top-five revenue market for the service.

⭐️ Spotify is shutting down Heardle, the Wordle-like music guessing game it bought last year

At the time of its acquisition, Spotify said Heardle would remain free to play for everyone. Now the company says it will sunset Heardle on May 5, as it aims to focus on its other objectives around music discovery.

⭐️ Spotify Has Paid Out $40 Billion To The Music Industry, So Why Is No One Happy?

Maybe artists & the industry should take a closer look at Apple (who created the fundamental rules of the game in the first place).

🗣 Podcast Action 🗣

• Spotify Strikes Creator Video Deal With Jellysmack

• Spotify loosens its grip on exclusive podcasts

• Spotify is expanding distribution for some Gimlet podcasts

• Spotify’s New Publishing Tool Makes It Easy to Turn Broadcasts Into Podcasts

🎧 The Playlist List 🎧

• Viral AI ‘fake Drake and The Weeknd’ track pulled from streaming platforms

👀 Ek Update 👀

• Spotify CEO Ek Lobbying Against ‘Apple’s Stranglehold’ on App Stores

💡 Tips & Tricks 💡

• How to Install Spotify on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Other Distros

🖌 Design Notes 🖌

• Navigating the Discovery Phase

• Spotify develops new tool for turning radio broadcasts into podcasts

• How Spotify Knows What You Want to Hear Next

💰 Spotify Stock 💰

• Bank of Montreal Can Increases Stake in Spotify as Music Streaming Industry Continues to Grow

🔥 Extra News 🔥

• Klarna and Spotify among Nordic tech companies contributing to environmental impact platform Milkywire

• Spotify UK promotes Leroy Harris to head of marketing

• The Highest Earning Songs In The World, Mappe

• Spotify Amplifies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists With New Playlists and a Music + Talk Show

• WSDG’s Spotify at Mateo Complex Receives TEC Studio Design Project Award

• Spotify is losing its audiobooks chief

🎵 New Adventures 🎵

The Mikado: Finale, Act Two - Voice Arthur Sullivan, Carl Davis, Dorothy Atkinson, Shirley Henderson

Guided By Wire Neko Case

Gypsy Road Cinderella

Turned Up Too Late Graham Parker & The Rumour

It Must Be Love Rickie Lee Jones

London Bridges Josh Rouse

National Ransom Elvis Costello

Chains Iggy Pop

📧 Get in touch 📧

If you have a question, idea, request, or simply a desire to chat about Spotify, please email me at jeff.spotifynewsletter@gmail.com.

😀 Have a Nice Weekend! 😀