topic Playlist issues in Content Questions

Playlist issues

bryanwhe — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 10:17:37 GMT

Is anybody else experiencing strange issues with playlists? My 'Discovery weekly' one is the same songs week in, week out, my 'on repeat' features songs I do not recall listening to, songs that I have hidden are appearing in playlists.

The major one for me is the artist playlist. As an example, I created a Pixies playlist, and they featured mainly obvious choices (and some not so obvious) but no songs from the solo career of the main songwriter. I could also see them adding songs that I had been listening to a lot recently but didn't really sound like the Pixies.

I have a premium account but only use Spotify to explore new bands. The above is making me doubt whether it's any use for this.

Any advice on how to improve playlists?

(Tried signing in to post this question, but the page just keeps repeating itself on blank).

Re: Playlist issues

MihailY — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 12:43:31 GMT

Hey @bryanwhe,

Thanks for reaching out!

To address each issue individually:

Discover Weekly playlist not updating - please try unfollowing the playlist and then following it again from Search - Made for You.
On Repeat playlist featuring unfamiliar tracks - we'd suggest securing your account using these steps or checking with your friends and family if you're logged on one of their devices. They might be using your account unknowingly and thus affecting your Taste Profile/personalized playlists.
The Pixies playlist - we're guessing you're referring to the artist-based radio playlist. Please note that generally those playlists don't include tracks from the solo careers of individual band members, so what you're seeing is expected. Keep in mind also that the algorithm favors familiarity over similarity when adding songs by other artists, so if you'd like to see a different experience, please vote for this idea.
Difficulties logging in - can you please post a screenshot or a short video of how things look on your end?

Keep us posted.

Re: Playlist issues

bryanwhe — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 12:33:52 GMT

Thank you for responding!

So, with regards to band radio playlists not playing work from the solo
artists, this is not the case - neither in the Pixies radio playlist (the
Breeders feature prominently, in fact they make up a significant percentage
of the playlist) nor in other similar playlists (a lot of Sebadoh in the
Dinosaur Jr playlist). It makes sense that these bands feature in the
playlists, but surely the main songwriter should be more prominent. You
want to hear songs that sound like (say) the Pixies - no better artist than
the actual artist who wrote the songs!

Re repeat playlist playing unfamiliar music - my account is linked with my
wife's, but the songs featured are 100% not what she is listening to
either. Any other suggestions, or should I try the steps that you have
outlined regardless?

The difficulties logging in - Is this Spotify forum separate to my Spotify
account? The avatar is different for both, so I assume two different
accounts.

Re: Playlist issues

MihailY — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 06:29:44 GMT

Hey @bryanwhe,

Thanks for your reply.

We've forwarded your feedback regarding the artist-based radio, however, note that the Ideas section is your best bet when it comes to making changes to features. You can either vote for the existing idea or submit a new one if you feel it doesn't really match what you have in mind.

If by linked account you mean you're sharing a Premium Duo plan (and not sharing the same Spotify account/login credentials) then that shouldn't be issue. In any case, it's best to follow step 2. from the linked article and sign out of all devices to make sure you're logged in only on the ones you currently use.

On your third question - to access your Community profile you use the same credentials as for your Spotify account, however, they are "sort of" separate since you can customize them independently.

We hope this clears things up, let us know how it goes with the On Repeat playlist!

Cheers,