★ SPOTlight

⭐️ Spotify adds a new, automatically updating playlist for offline listening

Spotify introduced a new feature today called Offline Backup. This feature for premium users is essentially a list of songs you recently listened to and that you can consume offline. It updates automatically based on your listening history.

Paid users can already download songs for offline consumption. But Spotify wants to give them more songs for offline playback by leveraging the local cache on your device of recently streamed tracks along with some songs in your now playing queue.

⭐️ Spotify expands AI Playlist feature to US, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand

This tool, which uses generative artificial intelligence to help users create personalized playlists, was first launched in beta in the UK and Australia in April. Now, the Swedish streaming company has extended the feature to users in the US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.

⭐️ Jeremy Erlich, Spotify’s Global Head of Music, to exit

Erlich’s departure was announced in an internal memo to staff, in which the executive indicated that he would be “embarking on [his] own entrepreneurial journey.”

⭐️ Spotify raises prices in Canada amid debate over proposed streaming tax

In Spotify’s emails to customers that the news outlet obtained, the company said it is increasing the prices of its Premium Individual tier “so that we can continue to innovate on our product offerings and features.” The company also noted that users have the option to downgrade or cancel their subscription if they’re dissatisfied with the new pricing, according to the report.

⭐️ Taylor Swift Loses 2 Million Spotify Listeners After Kamala Harris Endorsement

Taylor Swift’s streaming stats are down bad.

🗣 Podcasts

• Spotify’s Biggest German-Language Podcast, ‘Gemischtes Hack,’ Returns With a New Twist: Video

• Spotify reveals global surge in French-language music/podcast consumption

▶️ Playlists

• How to get the best results from Spotify's AI playlist builder

• Spotify shuffle isn't shuffling? You're not alone

🎧 Streams

• Addison Rae Gets Spotify Streaming Boost With 'Diet Pepsi'

• Spotify star with millions of streams, record deal is a University of Michigan junior

• Tesla to Stop Including Free 'Streaming' App and Spotify Premium With Premium Connectivity

🖌 Design

• Are You a Dalia? How We Created Data Science Personas for Spotify’s Analytics Platform

🧐 Research

• How AI helps Spotify win in the music streaming world

🎼 Spotify 4 Artists

• 4 top ways to connect with the artists you love on Spotify

💡 Tips & Tricks

• 7 Ways to Find New Music You'll Like on Spotify

• How to See Who Saved Your Spotify Playlist in 2024?

🔥 News

• 'The rule I have with Mark is...': Spotify CEO Daniel Ek on his 16-year friendship with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg

• Up 115% in a Year, Spotify Needs This Growth Engine to Kick In

• Weed Youtuber Dope As Yola Scores Big With Spotify Deal: ‘Word Of Mouth Is More Powerful Than Ads’

🎵 New Adventures

Joe's Garage Frank Zappa

Thank You for Sending Me an Angel Talking Heads

Too Soon To Tell Bonnie Raitt

Darlington County Quaker City Night Hawks

Harbor Lights Boz Scaggs

Darn That Dream Clifford Brown, Max Roach Quintet

This Forgotten Town The Jayhawks

Too Late Marlene Duran Duran

Kris Kristofferson: Country Music’s Poet Laureate and Revolutionary Lyricist Passes

Country music? Ha! It’s nothing more than a bunch of white trash hokum for cousin-kissing rednecks to blast out in the cornfield, completely undignified and ill-refined for anyone who takes arts and letters seriously. Nobody of any class would ever find themselves in the audience of the base racket that falls beneath the “country music” umbrella and expect to be accepted or even tolerated in polite society.

…and then came Kris Kristofferson.

We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge

Help Me (with Larry Gatlin) Kris Kristofferson, Larry Gatlin

If You Don't Like Hank Williams Kris Kristofferson

Kiss the World Goodbye Kris Kristofferson

⭐️ If you have a Spotify playlist you’d like spotlighted ⬆️ (Platform & Stream as well), let’s talk. Email: jeff.spotifynewsletter@gmail.com

📧 Get in touch

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

😀 Have a Nice Weekend!