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.

[Dylax]

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.

[Sharolet]

In the "Now Playing View", allow me to pick what's in there and WHERE it is in there. I love the album art, love seeing what's next. Let me add the friend activity & lyrics in there. Don't care about where & when artists are touring or the artist card with their picture and backstory on it. And as far as where the information is in there like, maybe make it like a widget of sorts where you can click and drag things around. X things I don't want, + things I do. 

[lokonji]

So, after changing the settings as previously described, everything was ok for a bit, but just now I reopened spotify and it had reverted back to its behaviour of auto-opening, and I had to go into settings again to change it.

Just thought I'd let you know. Probably (hopefully) just a one-time glitch after an update that made it forget the setting or something.

Still, pretty sloppy

[NLO1]

How do I PERMANENTLY disable the Now Playing pop up????.  I have changed the setting to DISABLED, and it keeps automatically reverting.  It's **bleep** annoying and I do not want to see any of this extra information.  I have to re-disable it every time I log into Spotify - which is daily because I have to shut my laptop down each day.  
Please give us the floating cover art on the left back.

[NLO1]

this is not a one time glitch.  This is a problem EVERY DAY for me.  Sorry you're experiencing the same problem.  i guess we have to wait for Spotify to actually listen and fix the problem.

[Sivanard]

Don't know if anyone notice. But if that now playing section need to scroll any text inside that window the CPU usage is spiked up like crazy ..like 15-30% of CPU usage just for that alone. 

[edga]

Big album cover was much nicer and easier. A whole panel on the right side just to see an album cover? waste of space. Unfortunately it seems like another "let's just do something" update adding absolutely nothing useful 😞

[CRZ]

Please stop hiding my Friends Feed.  I like my Friends Feed.  I absolutely do not ever need the Now Playing screen to override it.

[RatalieSuggests]

I DO NOT LIKE THIS FEATURE. PLEASE CONSIDER AN OPT OUT OPTION. PLEASE! 

These changes have made me mad! I have been with Spotify for YEARS. The recent UI design changes have been really annoying and they don't feel like they add to my listening experience at all. I posted in another thread relating to this feature. I am doing it again because I don't like it that much. Please take the feedback before I switch to TIDAL or Apple Music.

[Sdkard]

In "Now Playing View", the album art is too close to the scroll bar in that panel and it makes the entire panel feel claustrophobic. Resizing doesn't help at all. Please add more spacing and/or personal layout customization that will help fix this. 

[xkx]

Another buggy sidebar. Great job, Spotify. Maybe fix first sidebar and then introduce another one? Or simply delete this unfriendly bs

[lokonji]

now I've noticed that every time I open spotify, both sidebars are closed and I have to manually re-open the friend feed

boh, I don't even really care anymore, tbh this fiasco has become slightly amusing

like, every morning when I open spotify I wonder, what surprise of botched UX is there gonna be for me today?

I just find myself just kinda curious each time whether it's a glitch or just bad design

[MattSuda]

Hey folks,

Thanks for posting your feedback about the Now Playing View sidebar. Your feedback is being read and sent to the team.

There is a cool new feature in the Web Player and desktop app version 1.2.15 that is rolling out right now.

• 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.

[SurPlus]

Thanks for sharing this information.

I feel like this doesn't address the complaints and feedback that was given here.

All I read about album art here is to bring back the floating album art in the bottom left corner. I think that will bring back a lot of goodwill. (And of course fixing the bugs with the new sidebar mentioned in this thread).

[braedonsz]

The UI / UX team is just **bleep**ing with us now.  It's the only way this makes any sense. Sidebars in sidebars. The Friend activity and now playing sidebars share the same space, but one toggle button is at the top right, the other at the bottom centre? But the lyrics and the Queue buttons -immediately next to the now playing button- toggle the centre pane, not the right pane? Now playing, and the Queue (the Queue- that is literally 'now playing'...) don't share the same real-estate?

Cherry on top, The save to your library 'hearts' are out of sync? all three(?!) of them? Triples is best. Triples makes it safe....

 

[elliottstarno]

Not being able to enlarge album artwork without opening the Now Playing sidebar ABSOLUTELY SUCKS. Please revert this awful change. It is poor and unnecessary design. 

[elliottstarno]

Awful design. It was much better before the unnecessary changes. 

[ahti_jarvela]

They should really check their carbon monoxide detectors at spotify offices because no sane ui designer would design something this terrible. I'm getting really tired of the client becoming worse every update. The new "now playing" panel is especially bad on vertical monitors. Might switch to tidal tbh

[cosmicbunny]

Well, tell the team that we want something similar to this:

The album cover will follow the size of the sidebar, you know, like it used to be.
On a side note: remember inbox? I used to love it. Shame how things just keep on getting worse.

[ampdecay]

so annoying. please delete this feature.