Spotify Adds Music History To Facebook Timeline

Spotify is adding moments in music history to its Facebook Timeline. Currently they go all the way back to "Organum Experiments" in 1001 and continue through to contemporary times. Spotify is also requesting that music fans submit "seminal music moments from history" to be included. It's a nice example of enhancing music discovery while increasing user engagement with Spotify's Timeline.

The inclusion of historical moments in music on Spotify's Facebook Timeline is a smart move to boost user exploration of the Spotify catalog. Most entries, even early historical ones, have a link to the artist or a playlist available via Spotify. For example, I wouldn't have expected to find the music of Hildegard of Bingen, born in 1098, on Spotify.

However, occasional key landmarks, like the release of Michael Jackson's Thriller, are offered with the YouTube video that helped define the song.

Spotify's History of Music on Facebook Timeline

The majority of the posts include only a year rather than the individual date but that should be sufficient for casual browsing and discovery.  They do say they're interested in folks suggesting new moments and that you can add them in the comments.

To further the discovery process, Spotify has also created A History of Music playlist. 

For some reason earlier historical posts don't have the ability to be shared with others. This seems a bit shortsighted in terms of long tail interests prior to the 1900s.  On the other hand, given what they probably pay the major labels and the reality that many listeners prefer contemporary hits, it's understandable that the major focus of the timeline is the 1900s featuring popular music and shareable posts.

As you move into current times, the Timeline posts mix Spotify announcements and historical moments plus friend's posts about Spotify if you don't filter those out. It's a bit of a mess if you just want to check the historical posts but is still a strong draw for browsers who will then be exposed to Spotify news as well. So it's definitely useful for Spotify's interests though they run the risk of turning off viewers who just want to check the historical posts on the Timeline.

All in all, adding historical moments with links to playlists and artists on Spotify is a smart move to deepen the discovery process while heightening engagement with Spotify's Timeline.

Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his business writing hub at Flux Research and blogs about dance at All World Dance. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.