Spotify Review

Spotify review

I have chosen Spotify to complete my review as I use this app daily.  I am currently a Premium subscriber with the family plan.  This allows six users, who live in the same household, to have access to the app on different devices.  The cost is cheap at $14.99 per month.

Usability

Spotify is used to stream music, podcasts and videos. As a user you can search for artists, create playlists, and mark songs that you like with a heart.  The app creates daily mix lists based on the music you listen to.  The daily mix lists are on your home screen for a simple click and play.  There have only been a handful of times that the app has been down for updates or issues since I have been a member.  I started my subscription in 2016.  If you are not a premium subscriber, you will encounter ads that have to be watched and/or listened to before moving to your next song.  Without premium you have limited times per hour that you can skip songs and move to the next.  The ads can become annoying, hence the reason I purchased the premium plan.  I am sure that Spotify does this to get more subscriptions. Navigation is easily defined in the app which makes the usability easy.

Design

The design of Spotify is basic black background with potential interests on the home page.  There is an index to the side for simple navigation on where you would like to go.  You also have a search feature at the top of the screen. On the home screen you can also connect with friends and see what they are listening to.  Once you get into a play list it lists out the songs that are upcoming for easy visibility if you wanted to skip several songs down.  The design is overall basic but easy to understand.

Home Screen

Playlist

Functionality

Spotify is like other streaming apps.  You can browse, view, download, and listen to music, artists, podcasts, lyrics, and more.  For music lovers’ apps like Spotify are the best thing that was ever created.  No more packing, buying, or worrying about those cassette taps or CDs.  If your lucky enough to have a newer vehicle with Bluetooth, you can even connect and listen while driving.  I think the best part is I don’t have to listen to talk radio or commercials and I can pick what songs and/or artists I want to hear.  This application stands up to its purpose of being able to stream music, podcasts, and videos on the go or at home.

Recommendations

1.      Spotify needs to provide a survey for you to complete at time of subscribing that way the recommended music is what the user listens to.

2.      Update the non-premium users to only play ads every hour instead of what seems like every 15 minutes.

3.      Make creating a playlist easier.  You should be able to pull up a list type in the songs/artist you want on that list then save it.

4.      If someone purchases a family plan they should not have to live in the same house.  I have a daughter who is 22 with 2 children.  She no longer lives with me but should still be able to stream under my plan as I pay for it.