Spotify Jam: Live Reactions & Recap
Spotify Jam: Live Reactions & Recap
Feature Exploration
Feature Exploration
What if your group listening sessions could actually feel like hanging out?
What if your group listening sessions could actually feel like hanging out?
I redesigned Spotify Jam to let friends react to songs in real-time and save their sessions as playlists, turning a temporary feature into something more social and memorable.
**Note: Independent exploration, not affiliated with Spotify!**
I redesigned Spotify Jam to let friends react to songs in real-time and save their sessions as playlists, turning a temporary feature into something more social and memorable.
**Note: Independent exploration, not affiliated with Spotify!**
The Problem
The Problem
Spotify Jam enables synchronized listening but fails to support social expression during or after the session. Users can listen together, yet there is no native way to react in the moment, pushing communication to external apps. Additionally, after a session ends, it is lost forever with no shared artifact.
Spotify Jam enables synchronized listening but fails to support social expression during or after the session. Users can listen together, yet there is no native way to react in the moment, pushing communication to external apps. Additionally, after a session ends, it is lost forever with no shared artifact.
What Users Are Saying…
What Users Are Saying…
“It would be so awesome to be able to chat with the people in your jam. I love that you can see what your friends are listening to, it's one of the standout features of this app and I really wish Spotify would lean more into the social aspect because it is what could make the platform really set itself apart.” - Spotify Community Member
“It would be so awesome to be able to chat with the people in your jam. I love that you can see what your friends are listening to, it's one of the standout features of this app and I really wish Spotify would lean more into the social aspect because it is what could make the platform really set itself apart.” - Spotify Community Member
“I notice that many times when having a Jam session with friends, we message each other or comment on songs when they play. Is there a way to add a 'chat feature' to a Jam session in the Spotify mobile app? If not now, perhaps a future feature request?” - Spotify Community Member
“I notice that many times when having a Jam session with friends, we message each other or comment on songs when they play. Is there a way to add a 'chat feature' to a Jam session in the Spotify mobile app? If not now, perhaps a future feature request?” - Spotify Community Member
“Current behavior is that if you start or join a jam, nothing you listen to saves to recently played history—but this is when I need it the most, to save new songs discovered with friends, or to save a playlist of the music during our time together.” - Spotify Community Member
“Current behavior is that if you start or join a jam, nothing you listen to saves to recently played history—but this is when I need it the most, to save new songs discovered with friends, or to save a playlist of the music during our time together.” - Spotify Community Member
“It would be cool to save a jam session into a Playlist after it finishes. Either to relive the moment or to discover new music added by the people in the jam session. Once the jam finishes it's just gone and there is no way to rediscover what was added.” - Spotify Community Member
“It would be cool to save a jam session into a Playlist after it finishes. Either to relive the moment or to discover new music added by the people in the jam session. Once the jam finishes it's just gone and there is no way to rediscover what was added.” - Spotify Community Member
Spotify Jam is built to be temporary and quiet, but users actually want the opposite: they want to talk about the music and have a way to save the playlist once the party is over. Currently, the feature is missing these tools, forcing users to leave the app to stay connected and breaking the flow of the experience.
Spotify Jam is built to be temporary and quiet, but users actually want the opposite: they want to talk about the music and have a way to save the playlist once the party is over. Currently, the feature is missing these tools, forcing users to leave the app to stay connected and breaking the flow of the experience.
The Solution: Live Reactions & Jam Recap
The Solution: Live Reactions & Jam Recap
Live Reactions:
Appears during a Jam as a collapsible chat window on the Now Playing screen.
Friends can open it when they want to comment on songs as they play, and close it when they don't.
Ephemeral: only exists during the session, so reactions can feel spontaneous instead of performative.
Live Reactions:
Appears during a Jam as a collapsible chat window on the Now Playing screen.
Friends can open it when they want to comment on songs as they play, and close it when they don't.
Ephemeral: only exists during the session, so reactions can feel spontaneous instead of performative.
Jam Recap:
If enabled by host, a recap pops up for all participants after the session ends.
Shows every song played, top reacted to songs, all participants, and total session duration.
Persistent: jam can be saved as a playlist if desired by the participants.
Jam Recap:
If enabled by host, a recap pops up for all participants after the session ends.
Shows every song played, top reacted to songs, all participants, and total session duration.
Persistent: jam can be saved as a playlist if desired by the participants.
Host Controls:
Both features can be controlled by the host under "Jam Details."
Ensures privacy, user control, and no forced social interaction.
Host Controls:
Both features can be controlled by the host under "Jam Details."
Ensures privacy, user control, and no forced social interaction.
What Drove These Design Choices?
What Drove These Design Choices?
Since this was a rapid exploration, I prioritized understanding the actual problem over building out every edge case. I spent time reading through Spotify Community threads and watching how my friends used the app during hangouts. I asked: where were they switching apps? What did they screenshot? What did they complain about?
Since this was a rapid exploration, I prioritized understanding the actual problem over building out every edge case. I spent time reading through Spotify Community threads and watching how my friends used the app during hangouts. I asked: where were they switching apps? What did they screenshot? What did they complain about?
The key insight: People don't want Jam to be a silent background activity. They want it to be part of the conversation. This is why I designed the chat to live right on the Now Playing screen. No separate page and no menu diving, so if you're going to react to a song, you can do it in the moment rather than three screens later. The recap feature was about preserving the session itself, a common wish users had from what I learned. People value the moments that Spotify Jam creates, and they don’t want to lose it after it ends.
The key insight: People don't want Jam to be a silent background activity. They want it to be part of the conversation. This is why I designed the chat to live right on the Now Playing screen. No separate page and no menu diving, so if you're going to react to a song, you can do it in the moment rather than three screens later. The recap feature was about preserving the session itself, a common wish users had from what I learned. People value the moments that Spotify Jam creates, and they don’t want to lose it after it ends.
Future Work
Future Work
If I were to expand on this project in the future, i’d love to test with real groups. Does the chat actually get used, or does it feel performative? Do people save their recaps, or is the feature satisfying enough just knowing they could? And what happens in sessions with strangers vs. close friends… does the whole dynamic change? Such questions are what excites me most about this work: understanding not just what people do, but why they do it.
If I were to expand on this project in the future, i’d love to test with real groups. Does the chat actually get used, or does it feel performative? Do people save their recaps, or is the feature satisfying enough just knowing they could? And what happens in sessions with strangers vs. close friends… does the whole dynamic change? Such questions are what excites me most about this work: understanding not just what people do, but why they do it.
