Default Playlists

[zmz]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

(iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy 9, Macbook Pro late 2016)

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

[zmz]

Why does Spotify always default to resume play after being paused with some modern current pop music playlist instead of the last playlist requested by user?

For example if user only plays jazz, only requests jazz, always wants jazz, why does Spotify resume play again after being off with some modern hip hop music instead of reverting back to jazz as wanted by the user?

The default should be to resume with the user's last playlist, NOT whatever is current and trending and popular..

How do I fix this annoyance?

Please advise

Thanks  

[Vasil]

Hey @zmz,

Thanks for reaching out!

Could you share with us more details about what is happening?
What steps would you go over if you had to reproduce the issue and on which platform does it occur on?

Let us know and we'll be happy to take a further look! 🙌🏼

[zmz]

If playing Spotify through Amazon Tap device, and I stop play and then later ask it to resume, Spotify starts up again with whatever is current or trending or popular not the playlist that I was listening too.

Same on desktop computer. 

When I open Spotify all cued up at the bottom is whatever Spofity deems trending or current or whatever, not what I want to listen to.

How can I set the default to turn that off?

How do I set the default to only resume with my last play requested, and not anything else?

Please advise

[Joan]

Hi @zmz,

Thanks for the reply. How exactly do you reproduce the issue on Desktop? Does it happen only when closing and reopening the app or also normally? What do you see in the queue when this happens? Send us some screenshots or better yet some videos of this behaviour. If the files are too large to attach here, you can add them as Google Drive links or unlisted YouTube videos.

Keep us posted.

[zmz]

Have asked same question twice now.

Let's try this:

How do I eliminate "Today's Biggest Hits" from being cued up and ready to play when I resume Spotify instead of what I was last listening to?

How do I turn OFF all other music from playing, other than what I have specifically requested?

If I am asked to restate this again will just assume it is unfixable and will drop my subscription. 

Thank you

[Alex]

Hi there @zmz,

Thanks for the reply.

Your issue doesn't sound like expected behavior. With voice-assisted devices and with the desktop app the usual behavior would be to resume where the user left off, unless the account used for playing was used in a different session in the meantime. 

Can you let us know if there are multiple accounts attached to the Amazon device or if your Spotify account is linked to devices to which other users have access? 

Regarding the screenshot of the queue - we have features that expand upon the already playing music which might recommend songs outside of the usual playlists etc. This is why we need a screenshot in order to see which process queues up the "Today's Biggest Hits" playlist. 

You can open the queue from this button:

Looking forward to your reply.

[zmz]

I apologize but am ignornat of technology and cannot send a screenshot nor want to learn how to.

The point is this - if I only ask for jazz, always play jazz, never play anything other than jazz, why then does

anything other than jazz appear as options on my home screen?

When I stop playing and ask to resume the next day, either on my Tap or cued up at the bottom of my desktop where you can play or advance or skip back on whatever is playing, will be cued up some new modern current artist, not jazz.

I have nothing against modern music but that is not want I want nor what I would expect to play when I resume my music session.

Is there a way to turn that off?

Can I set defaults to only resume and cue-up where I left off?

If not, then that needs to be fixed.

Spotify should offer that option to paying customers.

There is no point annoying folks with marketing efforts on current artists unrelated to their personal tastes.

That is an example of marketing strategies backiring or resulting in unintended adverse consequences.

I am a paying customer, not a free rider. 

Should be able to customize the situation so I only get offered what I want, not what the marketing folks are pushing.

[zmz]

and no, there is no one else on the same account listening to different music who might have changed what is cued up to play.

After I stop playing, Spotify is defaulting it back to modern current music instead of what I had been listening to.

How do I turn that off?

[zmz]

there should be an "opt out" function where one can decline to be made aware of whatever is trending.

[Joan]

Hi @zmz,

Thanks for the reply. The Spotify recommendation algorithm is designed to foster discovery, so some variety is always to be expected. Ultimately though, especially if you are a Premium user, you choose what you do and do not engage with. Consider the following:

• The Autoplay option for instance will play recommended tracks after a list has finished, so you can turn it off if you don't want it. 
• Saving and creating playlists with your favourite music is taken into consideration by the algorithm, so doing so will improve the recommendations you see. 
• If you play a specific playlist and then continue it later, provided things like Smart Shuffle and Enhance aren't enabled, you will only hear the songs within that playlist.
• In regards to the above, check out the available options for managing your Taste Profile, allowing you to exclude unwanted content from recommendations

Hope this clears things up.

[zmz]

Marketing Discussion:

Let's set up an algorithm that defaults users back to what we promised our new artists we would promote, even if there is zero chance that user would ever buy a single song from any of those trending artists. That way we can tell folks their songs are being "promoted" as promised even if the same benefit would be to market to dead people. It will create false and misleading statistics that will continue to perpetuate a hopelessly flawed system of annoying current users. Don't offer an opt out feature. Then users will downgrade from Premium or even leave completely thereby lowering subscriber numbers which will have to be rationalized through some new narrative. 

[zmz]

Cancelled Premium.

Apparantly no ability to hide or turn off whatever current modern artisits Spotify is promoting.

Whenever I resume Spotify after leaving off in the middle of one of my playlists, it will start up with whatever is trending instead of where I left off!

[Joan]

Hi there @zmz,

Thanks for the reply. So far we've been unable to reproduce the behaviour you mentioned, so that's why we believe this isn't the intended way the app is supposed to function. We understand the frustration, so if you could provide us with the info requested thus far, that will help us look into this and assist you further.

Keep us posted.

[Z14uk]

Joining here to say I have the same problem. 

Playing own music choice through Echo and my Spotify Premium account. On phone screen the current playlist remains and is paused.  If Echo is asked to pause, when "play" or 'play Spotify " command is issued; Echo begins playing a pop hits track and phone screen updates to show a new playlist is now active. 

Nobody else has access to my account. Problem has been occuring for ~3 weeks and is repeatable. 

[zmz]

Yes. Exactly. It is my conjecturre Spotify has made committments to new trending artists to promote their work.

All that new stuff shows up on my home screen even though I have never requested to play any of that music.

Because there is no "opt out" feature I have cancelled Premium and switched to another less annoying streaming service that will allow me to listen to what I want, not what Corporate is pushing.

Because I have zero intertest in what is new and trending and because Spotify does not  

[CB141]

I am facing the same challenge. A Spotify playlist auto-plays when I start the app, which is very difficult in the car.