topic Release Radar is now Worthless in Content Questions

Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

ktuli44 — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 12:55:46 GMT

Recently Release Radar has started adding tracks by artists I do not follow. This should not be what the Release Radar is for. It should be for new releases only by artists I follow. Giving me "new singles picked for you" should go in my Discover Weekly. I use both of these playlists for these specific purposes. Do not clutter my Release Radar with things I am not following. When I want to seek out new tracks by new artists, I'll seek them out.... but leave my Release Radar alone!

Release Radar playlist unwanted collaborations

MANISCHEWITZ — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 02:24:36 GMT

Plan:
Premium

Country:
United States

Device:
Samsung Galaxy S24+, Dell XPS 15 2023 laptop, Google Home smart speakers, various streaming devices

Operating System:
Android 13, Windows 11

My Question or Issue:
I've noticed that my Release Radar playlist is increasingly filled with collaborations between artists I love and lesser-known or new artists whose music I don't enjoy. For instance, tracks like "Came Out A Beast" by Flau'jae featuring Lil Wayne, "Hurt" by DJ TUT featuring Lil Wayne, and "The Code (Outro)" by 1504 Mutebaby and Metro Boomin are examples of songs that I find far from my taste. While I enjoy Lil Wayne’s solo work, these collaborations don’t align with my music preferences and significantly impact my listening experience.

I have been regularly using the 'Don't Like' button and skipping tracks, but this hasn't seemed to improve the quality of my recommendations. This issue has been occurring for the past several weeks, almost every time a new Release Radar is generated.

If this trend is part of a tactic to boost sales figures for legendary artists while promoting new, less appealing artists on subpar beats, I believe these tracks should not be prioritized in playlists like Release Radar. These strategies are diluting the quality of the listening experience for long-time fans. I'm hoping to find a way to fine-tune my Release Radar so that it better reflects my music preferences, focusing on artists I follow or similar genres, without the frequent appearance of unwanted collaborations. Any guidance or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

Vasil — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:31:36 GMT

Hey @ktuli44 & @MANISCHEWITZ,

Thanks for reaching out and thank you for your feedback!

By design, Release Radar will show you music by artists you follow, artists you listen to and other artists we think you'd like.
If you wish to see only the new releases from the artists you follow, you can instead click on the 'What's New' bell in the top right corner of the app:

Tip: It can also be filtered for music only!

If instead you'd rather see a change in how Release Radar functions, you can also submit an idea on the Community's Idea Exchange! Likeminded folks have already posted ideas with a similar thought in mind to what you've shared with us, so feel free to browse the Ideas section before posting! E.g. for your current inquiry you may want to leave a vote for this idea here.

Hope this helps! We're here for you in case you need anything else 🙂

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

ktuli44 — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 12:48:55 GMT

Is this a recent change to the Release Radar? Until recently I feel it only included things by artists I follow. I know the "What's New" section exists, but it is not an easy format to quickly listen to things - that is exactly why the RR worked well for me. I could quickly go sample new releases by the artists I follow, now it is suggesting things I do not want. As I said - this is the function of the Discover Weekly playlist to introduce me to new songs/artists. I feel this only recently changed, and I'm not a fan.

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

Layzworm — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:51:38 GMT

What's new is not the same as release radar, please just make release radar like it used to be. ONLY ARTISTS I FOLLOW.

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

mrsmagnuson — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 04:06:20 GMT

Thank you @Vasil, but this is exactly the problem: Release Radar recently stopped working in the way you describe, i.e. it started showing music by artists I am not following and have no intention to follow. The content seems to be solely based on what I was listening to recently. In my opinion it was a sudden and unexpected change which led me to visit this forum.

Release Radar is now Worthless

TORHusky — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 18:10:50 GMT

I'm not entirely sure when it happened, but recently the release radar is filled with artists I have never listened to, and many I would not listen to. Over 3/4 of the songs are being hidden as not relevant to any artist I actually listen to, before hiding songs I just don't like.

Release radar was the only thing keeping me on spotify vs youtube music, please fix this

Re: Release Radar is now Worthless

Justinf760 — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:36:00 GMT

Sounds exactly like my issue too, it really is just so awful now.

It doesn't matter which artists I'm following or what I've been listening to, every week my release radar is being filled with artists I've never listened to before (and the songs they're suggesting are months old, so it's old music from artists I have zero interest in), and I'm constantly hiding tons of songs. Or even better, it's full of songs from 1 album (that is a month+ old; worse if it's anything EDM).

It's pretty much just another 'Discover Weekly' for me, but worse I guess because the artists they use to 'fill in the space' are not interesting to me at all..

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

vistorjohansson — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 08:13:37 GMT

Could not agree more, this really grinds my gears.

Spotify all ready provide a million ways to help us find new music. Leave release radar alone!

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

leicazetisky — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 02:53:19 GMT

Companies like Spotify do not care about their users wants or needs. They don't even care if a change to a feature makes logical sense. All they care about is that their marketing tests (A/B split tests) tell them that making that change increased user engagement. They don't care that the change essentially breaks the 'Release Radar' feature for their users and results in a lesser quality product. They are only about increasing profits through whatever tricks necessary. I loved Spotify in the early days but it has now lost everything that set it apart from similar apps.

Release Radar plays almost exclusively new artists

silverangel — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 21:55:46 GMT

Release Radar plays almost only new artists. And almost no songs from artists I follow.
of the 30 songs 4 artists I follow and the rest unknown. or not playable. this year for the first time super annoying. Is there anything to do about that.

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

sealere — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 23:58:02 GMT

I used to look forward to release radar and now it's just a heap**bleep**. Apple music is starting to look more enticing

Re: Release Radar should not have anything I am not following!

Kakafoniusz — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 09:29:06 GMT

Release Radar used to be one of the best personalized playlists on Spotify.
It recommended new music from artists I actually follow or closely match my listening habits.
Recently, the playlist feels much more generic and commercial, with artists and genres I have never listened to and actively skip.
This change significantly reduced the value of Release Radar for me.
I would strongly prefer an option to keep the playlist strictly based on my real listening history, not promotion-driven discovery.