Spotify now allows its users to listen to music and podcasts with friends and family at the same time, even if they aren’t in the same location. Through its beta feature called Group Session, any premium user can generate a shareable link with up to five friends, who also have Spotify Premium, that’ll allow them to simultaneously stream content.
Although the feature is for paying users.
Any user in the streaming party can pause, play, skip, or select tracks in the queue, and they can add their own choices, too. There’s no chat feature, however listeners will have to make use of other platforms to discuss the podcast or music with their co-listeners. To host a session, premium users can select the Connect menu in the bottom left-hand corner of their play screen and scroll down to “Start a group session.” Once tapped, they’ll receive a shareable link they can send over social media or messaging.
Spotify Group Sessions was launched in May as a tool for hosting joint parties. Hosts can share a Spotify generated Code that their guests scan to join the party. The company has been building its premium user features for years in an attempt to encourage them to subscribe. This is one of the features to be released which was announced earlier.
In a reported statement:
“In our latest innovation, we’re taking Group Session one step further with brand-new functionality that allows Spotify Premium users around the world to tune into the same playlist or podcast simultaneously. So no matter the distance—whether six feet apart or a thousand miles away—you and the members of your squad can now each listen to the same content at the same time on your own devices (as well as control playback). Groups of two to five people can use this feature at once by sharing a “join” link via messaging apps or social media with each other”.
However, if a listener determines to make a change, it will be applied automatically with the users too.