Desktop: New "Now Playing View" sidebar

[MattSuda]

Spotify is introducing a new "Now Playing View" sidebar in the desktop app and Web Player to go along with the recently released "Your Library" sidebar.

Together, the individually customizable design of these new views provides a richer experience, more context, and quicker access to personal favorites.

The Now Playing View in the right sidebar shows the album art and info of the current song or podcast you are playing and also shows more information about the artist.

When you expand the album art in the bottom left corner of the app, it will no longer hover over the Your Library sidebar. Instead, the new right sidebar will open up. You can resize the Now Playing View sidebar to your preferred size.

You can open and close the Now Playing View sidebar by clicking the button in the bottom right of the desktop app.

The Now Playing View sidebar will open up on the right side of the app by default when you start playback, but you can disable this behavior under Settings ➜ Display ➜ Show the now-playing panel on click of play.

The Friend Activity feed is still accessible via the "friends" button next to your profile picture in the top right corner of the main content area. There is also an option in Settings. You can swap between showing either the Now Playing View or the Friend Activity feed in the right sidebar.

The new Now Playing View sidebar is now rolling out to all desktop users worldwide, so you should be seeing it soon.

You can read more info about the new desktop experience in the Spotify Newsroom post:

➜ Spotify’s Desktop Experience Gets a Brand-New Look With Redesigned ‘Your Library’ and ‘Now Playing’ ...

You can read more info and give feedback about the new Your Library sidebar here:

➜ Desktop: New Your Library sidebar

FAQ:

This section will answer your frequently asked questions and will be updated with the latest answers.

The Now Playing View sidebar keeps opening at the start of playback, how do I turn this behavior off?

• The Now Playing View sidebar will open up on the right side of the app by default when you start playback, but you can disable this behavior under Settings ➜ Display ➜ Show the now-playing panel on click of play.

How do I get the album art to expand in the bottom left corner like before? When I try to expand the album art, it opens the Now Playing View sidebar to the right.

• Unfortunately, that is no longer possible. When you expand the album art in the bottom left corner of the app, it will no longer hover over the Your Library sidebar. Instead, the new right sidebar will open up. You can resize the Now Playing View sidebar to your preferred size.

Can I hide certain sections in the Now Playing View sidebar?

• Right now it's not possible to hide sections, so you will see all of the sections. However, you can drag and resize the sidebar to your prefered size.

Feedback:

Where can I give my feedback about the new Now Playing View sidebar in the desktop app?

• We welcome your feedback about this change. The best way to share your feedback is to comment here in this thread.

Updates:

This section is to inform you of updates to the new Now Playing View sidebar such as changes and new features.

July 2023:

• Click to enlarge album art on album pages
  
  When you are viewing an album page, you can now click on the album art at the top next to the title to view it bigger in the middle of your screen.

[morefluff]

It's what the website shows you when you cancel your subscription 🙂

Apparently, in contrast to addressing user's complaints, Spotify does have time and is willing to put effort in this customer experience.

[rednblu]

Thanks for telling us how to do this. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2sojWNVQ5Spbq8IKGFIJlq?si=55615274b11d415f I even found the gospel cover for Part of Us. Now how do I get my new doggie onto the cover of my new Album?

[morefluff]

I would suggest you cancel your subscription to get the playlist. But googling it also seemed to work: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2zl9pKdnz6c92W70QSBA3l

[pat_lafont]

I can no longer see the queue AND the now playing at the same time. It would be amazing if we could choose which feature appears in the centre window and which appears in the sidebar. I would like to see Now Playing in the sidebar and the Queue in the main window.

[perambulant-rambous]

The lyrics should be displayed on the "now playing" sidebar guys. We should have access to the playlist at all times, we know this since the winamp times. Come on. 

[cour10e22]

I hate it and no one needs it. Get rid of it. And bring back the "click on the artwork in lower left to directly navigate to the currently playing song" – please.

[MacDaddyAZ]

Where can I give my feedback about the new Now Playing View sidebar in the desktop app?

• We welcome your feedback about this change. The best way to share your feedback is to comment here in this thread.

I mean, is that just there to be polite? Because clearly the feedback has been rolling in strong here for over a year, and over in Live Ideas for the last 4+ months, yet it has spurred zero actual activity from Spotify. I truly, truly wish that I was in a position to switch to a different music service, but unfortunately it isn't that simple for me. Spotify has obviously switched to a short-sighted "revenue-before-customers" model. Good luck with those revenue streams when all the customers they've alienated are happily paying subscription fees to competitors.

[Michael-IT001]

I have already turned off the 'show current playback panel' feature in the settings, but reopening Spotify still causes the current playback panel to pop up. Sometimes, even when listening to songs from other playlists, the current playback panel will still pop up. Please, developers, thoroughly fix this annoying issue since it has been around for quite a while. This is from a user of macOS Ventura 13.6.9 (Intel).

[cour10e22]

NO ONE WANTS the Now Playing View. It serves no purpose and is another panel that must be dismissed constantly, especially now that Spotify continues to insist that clicking the artwork on the lower left open this Now Playing Panel rather than taking you directly to the song in the currently playing playlist/album, etc. It is a horrible interaction and should never have been implemented. Please, please revert to the previous behavior. If a person is really that curious about what is playing, there are many options from the contextual menu of a song itself to find out more info about the artist, etc.

[guycollier]

For the love of all that is holy, please apply some persistence to user settings. I don't like the Now Playing sidebar and turn it off in settings. Every single time the app updates it resets it to on by default. 

[MadCat5021]

I used to have cover art left bottom corner, the que in the middle and "playing now" on the right hand side. Now i'm forced to choose between the que and the "now playing" view. The weird thing is, this happened a fw months back too, it changed after a short period but now this behaviour is back. I hate this feature so please either revert it or make it possible for a user too "shuffle" these functions around on the screen

[rednblu]

Yes!-- To your idea of giving the user the choice of where the queue displays--  And by the way, the Ctrl-A function done on the terrible QueueGluedIntoToTheRightPanel mistakenly highlights tracks in the playlist that mistakenly displays in the middle panel. LoL and guffaws all around!

That is, let's call in the surgeons to fix this, please-- before all **bleep** breaks loose please.

[Nothanksman1]

On browser view I can't even access my queue history because of this. There's no recently played tab available anymore?

[ux-expert]

I think the new behaviour is a massive mistake. cover art is essential and if there is a toggle to show friends activity i expect it to be a toggle. queue can be overlayed over this temporarily but if i hide the queue why does the sidestrip disappear completely and doesnt jist show what was there before? Cover art is nice and i want it to be there all time, if i decide that i find it more important than showing 5 more entries in my libary why dont you give me the choice? Why do i have to clutter my screen with non relevant info just to see the cover art? and once again why dont you just give the choice instead of making your product worse? This has been over a year and none of the feedback was incorporated.....

[MasterRagnarok]

This change is garbage. I want to have my now playing in the middle of the program. Change it back or make an option where we can have it display that way.

[Rim4]

Thanks, I hate it. 

[Turle_wave]

Year later, still useless garbage, god-damn it at least put suggestions into this awful bar, make it useful.

[AssassinSasha25]

So I just did the whole click on the album to expand the album art but it was NOT AT ALL what I wanted. What I want is to expand the moving art that shows up across the media player. Not full screen but to how it used to be. You do it on mobile just fine but it is a task and a half to redo your mistake of it on the Desktop app. ANNOYING!

[rednblu]

Yes-- Absolutely terrible how Spotify forces any paying customer on big screen to display disgusting and probably [...] advertisements in both the middle third and what they misleadingly label as "sidebar"!   (Gasp) in [...] to be rudely polite Yes