Desktop: New Your Library sidebar

[MattSuda]

Spotify is introducing a new Your Library sidebar in the desktop app and Web Player.

The new Your Library sidebar improves navigation and makes it easier and faster to collect and retrieve all types of content, bringing new features to desktop that you're already familiar with in the mobile app. The new sidebar is also more customizable than before to meet different preferences.

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’ ...

This thread is your go-to destination for learning what's new, asking questions, getting help for issues you might have, as well as to share your feedback about the new Your Library sidebar for desktop. Also, do you have any tips for other users on how you are using the new Your Library sidebar? We'd love to hear them.

What's new in the Your Library sidebar?

• See your entire collection and all of the content types (not just playlists)
  
  
• Filters for your collection (Playlists, Artists, Albums, Podcasts) that can be combined with other filters (By you, By Spotify, Downloaded)
  
  
• Sort options for your collection (Recents, Recently Added, Alphabetical, Creator, Custom Order)
  
  
• Chosen filters and sort options will be remembered in the sidebar across restarts of the desktop app
  
  
• Search through your collection in the sidebar
  
  
• Pinned library items to find your favorites, faster – current limit is 4 (Playlists, Playlist Folders, Artists, Albums, Podcasts)
  
  
• Art covers are now shown in the sidebar
  
  
• Compact library layout (no art covers) is available as an option in Settings to increase content density
  
  
• Dedicated + (plus) button to create Playlists and Playlist Folders
  
  
• Flexible Sizing: A collapsed library view (with only art covers) to maximize the browsing area, a regular width view, and an expanded view for more focused library management and curation. (you can also drag to customize the size)
  
  
• In the expanded library view, you have options for list view, compact view, and a grid view. The list and compact views show you more details in 2 columns, Date Added and Last Played, and the grid view allows you to see larger art covers.
  
  
• Playlist Folders can still be expanded into the sidebar in a tree view, and now when you click on them, the sidebar only shows the Playlist Folder and what's inside for a more focused view.
  
  
• Menu option to move a playlist to a folder (with search)

Note: The Your Library sidebar experience will be the same for the most part in the Web Player. However, the Web Player does not support all of the features found in the desktop app. To be able to use all of the features, you can download the desktop app right here.

Tips to get started:

If you need a familiar experience to help you get started with the new Your Library sidebar, here's how to get it as close as possible to the old sidebar that previously only showed playlists:

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

• Then, in the drop down menu select "Custom Order" under "Sort by". You will then see your previous playlist order and be able to move your playlists and folders like before.

• Your currently chosen filters and sort options will be remembered across restarts of the desktop app.

• If you would like to only see text in the Your Library sidebar (no art covers), go to the drop down menu and at the bottom of the menu click on "Compact" under "View as".

• Flexible Sizing: You can drag the Your Library sidebar to different sizes. Fully expand the sidebar by clicking the arrow button at the top, and fully collapse the sidebar by clicking on the "Your Library" heading to see only art covers.

• At the top, you can scroll through the different filters with your mouse scroll wheel for faster navigation when the sidebar is set to a smaller size. 

Walkthrough of the basics:

Sidebar List:

You can now see your entire collection and all of the content types (not just playlists) in the sidebar list. At the top, click on the filters to filter the content you want to see, and click on the drop down menu to change the sort order or view of the list. To create a new Playlist or Playlist Folder, click on the + (plus) button at the top right corner of the sidebar. To search through your collection, click on the search button.

Filter Options:

At the top, click on the filters to filter the content you want to see. You can scroll through the different filters with your mouse scroll wheel for faster navigation when the sidebar is set to a smaller size. 

To remove the filter, click on the X or the currently selected filter and then choose another filter to see another type of content. Having no filter selected will show all types of content mixed in the list.

• Playlists
• Artists
• Albums
• Podcasts & Shows
• These can be combined with other filters: By you, By Spotify, Downloaded

Sort Options:

At the top, click on the drop down menu to change the sort order of the list under "Sort by".

• Recents
• Recently Added
• Alphabetical
• Creator

When the "Playlists" filter is selected, you have the option to see your playlists in your own custom order.

• Custom Order

When the "Podcasts & Shows" filter is selected, you have the following option:

• Recently Updated

View Options:

At the top, click on the drop down menu to change the view of the list under "View as".

• Compact (view text only without art covers)
• List
• Grid (bigger art covers)

Flexible Sizing:

You can hover over and click on the right edge of the sidebar to drag it to your preferred width. You can also fully expand the sidebar by clicking the arrow button at the top, and fully collapse the sidebar by clicking on the "Your Library" heading to see only art covers.

In the expanded library view, you have options for list view, compact view, and a grid view. The list and compact views show you more details in 2 columns, Date Added and Last Played, and the grid view allows you to see larger art covers.

FAQ:

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

Related help articles on the support website:

• Your Library   • Sort and filter   • Keyboard Shortcuts

Can I view the Your Library page in the main browsing area like before?

• Unfortunately, the old Your Library page in the main browsing area is being discontinued with the release of the new Your Library sidebar. You can adjust the size of the Your Library sidebar to be bigger and you can also enable the "grid view" if you would like to see bigger art covers.

How do I see only my playlists in the sidebar like I used to be able to, I can't drag and move my playlists or folders anymore?

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

  
  Then, in the sort options drop down menu select "Custom Order". You will then see your previous playlist order and be able to move your playlists and folders like before.

  
  Your currently chosen filters and sort options will be remembered across restarts of the desktop app.

I don't want to see art cover images in the sidebar, how do I turn them off?

• If you would like to only see text in the Your Library sidebar (no art covers), go to the drop down menu and at the bottom of the menu click on "Compact" under "View as".
  
  

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.
  
  

  You can read more information about this by going here.

How do I play or shuffle play a Playlist Folder now? (I don't see dedicated pages with play / shuffle options anymore)

• Right click on a Playlist Folder and select the "Play" option. To shuffle play, make sure to turn on the shuffle mode first before selecting the "Play" option in the right click menu.

How do I get to my Local Files now?

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

  
  Then, in the sort drop down select "Custom Order".
  
  The "Local Files" playlist will be near the top of the list under your pinned items (if any).

Feedback:

Where can I give my feedback about the new Your Library 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.

[Samuller]

Plan

Premium

Country

Hong Kong

Device

PC

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Why did the interface go back to the old version after I updated today? I like the new interface, please I want the new version of the interface

[Urfavritpudding]

Why can't I full screen the library? Why force your library to be squeezed into less than half of the entire screen? Now half my screen is delegated to the home page which is mostly useless aside from my few seconds of cursory glancing through potential new music/podcasts. That minor bit of time does not warrant over half of my desktop. Please include an option in settings to revert back to original layout. This is clearly something numerous people also prefer.

[thomasmills89]

Can't believe you still haven't provided a way to rollback this nor officially addressed this @spotifydoesntcare

[Huothar]

I literally can't use spotify desktop. And I mean literally, the thing closes and the web player has issues loading my library. You guys really **bleep**ed this for no good reason at all. 

[theodosiaprevost]

---

@tamagosan wrote:

... I had it sorted by type, genre, language, date, artist. I had it categorised and exactly where I needed it to be. For years, this is worked for me. The old library system was perfect for a neurodiverse brain to understand and customise. However, this new system has almost reduced me to tears trying to get it to work and sort the way it used to be, nothing is doing what it's supposed to do and it's incredibly frustrating. It sucks.

- Make custom order an option on the parent library page

- Make the "sort by" preference actually save on child library pages, having to reselect every time sucks

- Provide the old UI as a display option, at least

---

This is exactly how I feel!! I'd spent countless hours sorting my folders and sub-folders (and sub-sub folders and sub-sub-sub-folders and you get the idea.) I have a weird ADHD brain, and I have extremely complex organisation systems that no one else understands. No company could ever design a system that I would feel comfortable using: that's why I want the ability to do it myself!

With this new UI I feel so overwhelmed because there's no way to go full-screen and just look at the playlist I'm listening to, or a single album, or even have the full page show the list of playlists in a single folder, for example. I genuinely get a prickly feeling of stress on the back of my neck when I open the app because there's too much going on and I can't see anything that I want to see. Is that silly? Probably, but so what? I listen to music for pleasure and I pay for the privilege. I should be able to do so on an interface that I'm comfortable with. Especially because this interface already exists and I'm simply being denied access to it for literally no reason.

It really feels like a lot of services are doing away with customization options in favour of forcing everyone into a singular linear UI. This "one size fits all" approach is pretty awful for a huge section of people. I can't speak for everyone of course, but it's a trend that feels genuinely hostile towards neurodivergant people. One size doesn't fit all. It feels like a serious step back in terms of accessibility.

[theodosiaprevost]

While I'm here:

• The vast majority of my downloads were deleted from my Anroid app, which I only realised when I was travelling and had nothing to listen to.
• Despite this, the app still somehow managed to display ads for a video podcast to me. This is in spite of the fact that I had previously closed the ad and marked it as 'not interested,' I do not and will not use spotify for podcasts, and I WAS OFFLINE.
• The majority of my playlists are still missing.
• The web player just doesn't work anymore. I attached a screenshot of what my library looks like on the web app, so shoutout to the top minds at spotify hq who came up with that. If you want to harvest my data and force me to use the app, then make A DESKTOP APPLICATION THAT FUNCTIONS.
• The new desktop application is so unbelievably slow. Each click takes about 3 full seconds to load. It's borderline unusable. I've only ever seen it this slow once before, and that was when my laptop had a virus and someone in Kazakhstan was using it to mine something that I'm apparantly not allowed to mention on this forum, but it rhymes with "lit groin".
• It's genuinely impossible to get in touch with anyone from spotify. It's not a surprise, I wouldn't want to face my customers if I delivered so poor a product, but still incredibly frustrating. Come out and address some of our concerns, you cowards.

[Annihlator]

As you can see, also on 1024x768 the screen use is wildly inefficient to say the least.
Before this update at least on my second (1280x1024) monitor it was quite usable, but since this change i must use it on my primary just to have enough screenspace to read half a damn thing without scrolling for an age and a half.

[Nate-Hawkings]

I'm willing to risk years of built up music libraries to avoid having to deal with the constant UI overhauls the team seems to push. It feels like there are some product managers severely disconnected from the customers and push their vision just to have something to push. This severe degradation is my last straw. 

[msThingK]

---

@Aktvst wrote:

Yeah it's an absolute shame Spotify is sticking to their guns with this atrocious new Sidebar concept. It breaks the entire app. Your Library is the absolute most important part of the entire desktop app, and now it's squeezed into this annoying side bar, that you have to drag out and resize to even see a few of the hundreds of artists I follow. Absolutely absurd UI design. I've been a Spotify subscriber for 8 years and cancelled for good after this update.
On the plus side, since Spotify decided to destroy their desktop app, I finally downloaded and tried TIDAL, and it's so much better, and a breath of fresh air. Well designed desktop app, like Spotify used to be years ago, and a pleasure to use. I urge everyone else to give it a try.

---

...

[caleidoscopic]

Has anyone ever thought of filtering the library by the year the album was released?

And when you select "Alphabetical" or "Creator", to be able to select by the letters A-B-C-D-ETC?

And how nice it looks when the album hovers over the side library  🤦‍♂️

[PatSupreme]

I hate the new design and the stupid sidebar. Please bring back the old version!

[dogteeth]

It was perfectly fine as it was in my opinion. Now I can't even move playlists out of folders and I have to be staring at the home screen the whole time. I wish we would stop getting useless updates and just fix what the community actually needs fixed,, -_-

[Nate-Hawkings]

Just changed to Tidal. No wonder spotify is struggling to reach profitability if they have teams burning cash on stuff like this. 

[bryonyghk]

CAN WE PLEASE TURN OFF THE FUGLY AND UTTERLY POINTLESS RIGHT HAND SIDE SIDEBAR WITH NOW PLAYING LIST????!!!! FOR GOD'S SAKE. SPOTIFY DEVS ARE THE EPITOME OF IFS ITS NOT BROKEN LETS FIX IT ANYWAY 🤬

[jonnyitunes]

Why is pinning the only way for me to put things above the Liked Songs. Who the **bleep** decided that I, ME, THE END USER, wants to have "Liked Songs" and "Your Episodes" above everything else and that these are not moveable? Custom Order only means custom as long as the devs deem it as something you don't want to force on the users? So then you give the ability to pin things. Why the **bleep** can I only pin 2 folders/playlists?!?!?

As a developer, I build things the end users want and not what I force them to have.

[lee22v]

Hello Spotify Team,

I have a ton of Playlists that I like to easily and quickly scroll through. The new UI includes a thumbnail that consists of a collage of album covers in the Playlist. Although this is more visually appealing, it makes navigating through my various playlists more difficult as it's taking up precious screen estate. I only see about ~8 Playlists in one frame right now. Before, I felt like I could see at least double the amount.
The way I identify my Playlists is by the name of the Playlist, not by the album cover collage thumbnail so it feels more like a distraction vs. a visual guide. I would love the opportunity to revert it back to a text-only Playlist view so I can navigate through my Playlists quickly. This new experience has been frustrating and I wanted to pass along this feedback.

[amandasieck]

Please let us sort EVERYTHING in a custom order, songs, playlists, folders, etc. Within a playlist folder you allow us to sort "custom" but you don't let us sort the FOLDERS in a custom order. "By creator" isn't enough customization please why don't you have the same options within a folder vs outside of a folder. You're constantly taking away our autonomy with these updates and changes to the UI. I understand making changes, but don't take away our ability to organize the way that we want to!!!

[nighthawk989]

Nothing really good, but, a week ago, you added a bar on the right, with a big cover (yes, we need bigger images of the album cover), band/artist infos, events, merchandise, next track to be played but right today it just disappeared, so it's all bad again. Please re instate that bar. 

[MiguelNovelo]

Woah, 10-year subscriber really hating on this new UX, thinking about other apps just because of the terrible interaction, I don't have clear access to my playlists. This is really annoying. 

[0ussamaa]

I am very disappointed with the new Spotify desktop sidebar. It is cluttered and difficult to use. The old sidebar was much simpler and easier to navigate. I also don't like the fact that the new sidebar takes up so much screen space. I would like Spotify to revert back to the old sidebar or at least give us the option to use it.

Here are some specific problems with the new sidebar:

It is cluttered and difficult to use. There are too many options and they are not well-organized.
The new sidebar takes up too much screen space. This makes it difficult to see the music that I am playing.
I don't like the fact that the new sidebar is always open. I would like to be able to close it when I don't need it.

I hope that Spotify will listen to the feedback of its users and revert back to the old sidebar. In the meantime, I will be using a different music streaming service.