spotifysmalllogoSpotify is beginning to test new podcast features for a select group of users, beginning with a playlist that suggests podcast episodes for you to listen to, interspersed with songs.

The playlist is aimed at users who commute frequently in their vehicles and is called "Your Daily Drive" (via The Verge). The podcasts seen in the playlist mainly center around news shows.

Spotify has been slowly gearing up for a strong push into podcasts for a few years now, but it has yet to introduce any sort of podcast curation feature or used its algorithms to recommend podcasts to subscribers. In the new playlist, the company is testing out doing just that, albeit with a few song recommendations thrown in as well.

Spotify confirmed the test to The Verge with the usual statement: "We're always testing new products and experiences, but have no further news to share at this time." Because of this, it's unclear if this new playlist will launch to a wide audience on Spotify. As of now, the playlist's podcast recommendations are in Portuguese so it appears the test is happening only outside of the United States.

spotify daily drive

In 2019, Spotify's podcast goals began taking clearer shape with a trio of acquisitions revolving around podcasts, including Gimlet Media, Anchor, and Parcast. These acquisitions give Spotify a suite of high-profile shows to launch on its platform, as well as Anchor's podcast creation tools that could let users create and share their own podcasts on Spotify.

Once it fully launches, Spotify's podcast initiative will be a direct competitor to Apple Podcasts, which has long dominated the market, although some creators and listeners have ongoing gripes with the platform. To get an edge on ‌Apple Podcasts‌, Spotify plans to focus on exclusives and improved podcast discovery -- like with this week's test -- to challenge Apple as the go-to destination for podcasts.

Tag: Spotify

Top Rated Comments

Unity451 Avatar
73 months ago
And for all of us that don't have a 2 hour commute... I'll just stick to music OR podcast.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stan2000 Avatar
73 months ago
I've been using this for months now, although not on a commute, but while sitting at my desk. I appreciate the mix of podcast and music and find it actually relevant to my tastes.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cgs1xx Avatar
73 months ago
I wish one could switch off anything curated everywhere!!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MadeTheSwitch Avatar
73 months ago
Maybe some people will like this, but I never mix the two. Either I am in the mood for podcast or in the mood for music. Never the two shall meet in my world.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
awp69 Avatar
73 months ago
How about giving us something more useful like offline playback on Apple Watch? If Pandora can do it, surely Spotify can too!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nburwell Avatar
73 months ago
I noticed this pop up in the app a month or two ago. I tried it out several times, but wasn't really a fan of the podcasts as when I launch Spotify, I want to listen to music, not podcasts - I have Pocket Casts for listening to and managing podcasts.

I figured they were testing this new feature, but I haven't seen it recently, so I assumed they were done with testing. As per usual, the tracks picked out for the playlist were spot on for what I typically listen to. I just could do without the podcast aspect. But that's just me.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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