Spotify is testing a limited pilot programme called Feature Curators

(Image credit: Spotify)

Spotify’s community is bigger than any other, boasting 180m subscribers at the end of 2021 (although Apple Music is gaining, having reported 98m paid-for users by the end of last year) and the company knows that none of its 406m global listeners stream in quite the same way – so it is once again trialling a new feature.

One of the biggest selling points of Spotify's offering over the years has been its easy-access playlists, so this month, Spotify is testing a new way to amplify the playlists its listeners create, with the rollout of its Featured Curators pilot.

Essentially, Spotify is testing a new way for listeners to discover music they (may or may not) love, with a collection of playlists curated by select Spotify users and influencers.

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The streaming giant has even broken its Featured Curators idea down into three key points for our information:

First off, it’s inspired by – and made for – fans. The Featured Curators pilot is a test that promotes popular user and influencer playlists alongside regular Spotify playlists. The curators Spotify has selected are music lovers with established followings and popular playlists on Spotify, or they are users telling unique stories through playlists and creating authentic connections with other users.

Secondly, it’s a first. Spotify's main strength has long been its extensive catalogue allowing music discovery through its flagship playlists and now, it is experimenting with taking playlist creation and discovery even further.

Lastly, Featured Curators is a limited-time pilot. Spotify tells us that users in select markets may soon begin to see Featured Curator playlists recommended in-app and on their homepages. As the company continues to workshop the programme throughout the testing period, the platform assures its fanbase it will be thoughtful in how it evolves the experience.

Still no sign of the promised, hotly anticipated and much desired Spotify HiFi though...

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Becky has been a full-time staff writer at What Hi-Fi? since March 2019. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, she freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 20-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance is of course tethered to a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo, This is Cabaret and The Stage. When not writing, she dances, spins in the air, drinks coffee, watches football or surfs in Cornwall with her other half – a football writer whose talent knows no bounds.