Spotify unveils Jam, a new personalised feature to listen to music with friends

Music is one of the commonest activities over which friends and groups bond and Spotify has created a new personalised feature that provides real-time listening sessions for any group to tune in together. 

Jam builds on some of Spotify's popular social features such as Blend and Collaborative Playlists, and combines them with its personalisation technology to make collective listening possible.

With Jam, a group can get in on the fun with shared queue control, recommendations tailored to the group, and the ability to see who’s added which track. 

Here’s how it works:

• To start your Jam, a Premium user selects a playlist or song to play. Then, you’ll see a “Start a Jam” button by clicking the Connect button at the bottom of your screen or by hitting the three-dot menu within your favorite playlist, album or song.
• You can also select a device to play on, whether that’s your phone or speaker. Those in your household on your shared WiFi will also be prompted to join into the Jam. 
• You can then invite your squad (Premium or Free users) in one of three ways:

1. Turn on Bluetooth, then tap your phones together
2. Have your friends scan the QR code on your host screen
3. Hit “share” to send the link through social, text, SMS, and more.

• Everyone in the Jam can add songs to the queue, see who added which song, and receive recommendations, all from their own devices. 
• The host also has the ability to determine who’s in the Jam, change the order of the tracks, or remove a song that doesn’t fit the vibe. 
• The host can also turn on “Guest controls” to allow everyone in the session to remove or change the order of the tracks. When “Guest controls” are turned off, only the host can rearrange the queue. 

Jam is rolling out for all Premium and Free Spotify users globally starting from September 27, 2023.