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.

[laurophyll]

I've been a customer of Spotify Premium for over 10 years, and have sucked up all of their constant, unnecessary UI changes thus far because I've invested so much time and energy into curating playlists and artists in my library. Sunk cost fallacy and such. With the new "Your Library" update for desktop, everything is dumped together into the sidebar and can only be filtered by tiny pill tags. I actively avoid using the pill tags on mobile because the size makes them difficult for me to use while on the go. There is simply too much information on display at once – it's overwhelming. I immediately turned off the new "Now Playing View" feature to help quell the information overload. I miss the visual experience of exploring my library without the constant need to adjust the sidebar's size to accommodate my tasks efficiently. Overall, this recent update has had such a negative impact on my user experience that, for the first time ever, I've begun exploring alternative subscription plans from competing products.

[Budney76]

The past several days I have no library "Something Went Wrong Try reloading your web library". The reload button doesn't work, and clearing the browser cache doesn't work either.

[user-removed]

I accidentally dropped a playlist folder into another folder, cant get it out. What a mess.

[funkyjt]

Just when I thought they couldn't make it worse, now I have a Now Playing sidebar that pops up every time I click play on an album... WHY!? So over all these UI changes, clearly Spotify has lost it's music driven focus and is just making changes for the sake of it.

[Maorcows]

The main library list being unable to be ordered in a custom way is frustrating to me. I appreciate that I can order when I specify playlists or podcats, etc, but I do like seeing everything I've added in an order that I prefer.

Another suggestion I have is to allow viewing of all items in the main library list, but in order of what type of item it is. So playlists first, then albums, then podcasts, then artists. Something like that, as an example. Maybe even being able to change what order the groups are in. 

I really don't enjoy it when the stuff I use changes its accessibility all of a sudden. It frustrated me for a bit getting used to this new library, but I've since come to understand it better. I also don't like when things I want access to in a specific way change based off of when I last accessed it or (and this doesn't apply here) if some algorithm decides to change things up. Thankfully the latter isn't an issue here, although I'm afraid it will be one day.

[GlacioD]

Spotify. Stop. Please just stop. I don't want to be your beta guinea pig. Give me the efficiency the laptop app used to provide (for many, many years), and end the new bells & whistles that have nothing to do with utility of your software. I just want to stream music, and make playlists. That's all. You're tinkering with what you've already tinkered with, and it never seems to end. PLEASE. PLEASE end this.

[Knightlok]

What a surprise, another useless update that no one asked for, that makes the app worse by not only adding more clutter, it removes another feature people loved.

Again I go look for information online and find a plethora of people complaining, asking for the old feature back, the removal of the new, horrible content and to no ones amazement, all complaints are completely ignored.

So let me get this straight, Spotify had the album on the left side for forever but you guys decide to not only move it to the right side FOR NO REASON, you also remove the ability of maximizing the cover art on the left. Even if people did ask for it, WHY DO YOU REMOVE THE FUNCTIONALITY FOR EVERYONE AND SHOVE UNWANTED CHANGES DOWN PEOPLES THROAT. 

[Knightlok]

Could you make it an option to NOT have the Now Playing enabled? And make it so I can maximize the album cover on the left side again? Absolutely horrendous change that made my user experience reach an even new low. 

[Clean_Code]

How do I revert to the old style UI with the navigation tabs and not this messy sidebar?

[terioncalling]

You're out of luck, friend. They're forcing this BS onto all of us and have even cut off the few ways back that we had according to people who had been installing older versions.

Best that can be done is the instructions to get it close to the old UI, which is still BS because the dumb sorting bar is taking up a chunk of the sidebar.

[KatesHere]

I don't want to be another Negative Nellie, but I wanted to add my voice to the 760 comments here.

The new update is so huge and in your face, especially the sidebar. It's very hard for me to find my playlists, even after Matt's tips. There's so much information on the screen, I'm very lost on what to do, where to look. I'm aware sometimes it's all down to habit and we humans are habitual beings. However, I'd rather be able to have smaller fonts and some "wasted"/blank space, as this new look is giving me anxiety from the onslaught of information on my screen and all I wanted to do was go through my playlists to pick something I was in the mood to listen. The app was stuck several versions in the past and I regret seeing that and updating it now. All I wanted was to listen to some music....

[KatesHere]

I was overwhelmed as well, and then I noticed the NPV is another column and it sent me over the edge of anxiety 🫠

[KatesHere]

Try to be in their shoes for a sec: the company you work for releases sth and it gets huge backlash cause people hate it, but you have to promote it cause that's what your job is. What would you do? Supporting a volunteer who's trying to make the best of it would also be in my to-do list.

[shakeheartbreak]

We're all paying for this service. While abuse of individuals is absolutely not justified, it's down to Spotify to support their employees, not us - and to fix their broken products.

Meanwhile, I'm off to start researching alternate music streaming services.  I've had enough.  They've lost their way and aren't the same company they used to be.

[vaajy]

I've got Now playing view on Desktop.
What I don't like about it, buttons everywhere. What's the point to click on tiny cover art at the bottom if Extend only opens the sidebar Now playing view, when one has a button for that? Please remove option to Extend from the cover art bottom.

When sidebar opens the X close button at top of it is kinda useless too when you just have a button at the bottom.

I have no clue who designs it, but having few buttons/places doing same thing is just ridiculous.

[arakui]

i hope you go bankrupt

[davegleason2008]

Option to revert back to the minimal view from before would be very nice.  OPTION PLEASE!

[Ryan18104]

I hate the new Spotify UI. Like, really hate it. I've been using this app since it's inception and I find this new version super confusing. If you need a big long post to "teach" long-time loyal users how to use your app, you've failed. All I want is a big grid of albums in my library. Not ~3 sidebars. Insane.

[broscolotos]

After the new UI is fully done, allow users the ability to revert to "Legacy" UI. Have the new default, that's fine, but give us a choice to go back to the old. The new system, everything about it not just a single node, is more cluttered. My sidebar takes up more space(left to right). The font got larger. There is more space being taken up vertically with the sidebar. Also make the Legacy UI persist through updates; if we choose to have the legacy, let us seemlessly use it without having to change a setting every update.

Listen to community feedback; there are way too many of us who dislike the new changes and are doing everything we can to try to keep it the same as before for this to simply be ignored.

[user-removed]

It feels like Spotify has lost its grasp on why people moved to it in the first place. 

Your brand identity is in music, you're not gonna get away from it no matter how much you try and be like Tiktok.  This UX/UI redesign around huge tiles, swaths of padding, disjointed UX elements, autoplaying videos no one wants, audiobooks being shoved down our throats above the music you should be prioritizing only adds to the discontent with the app.

As many others have said, you need to take a step back from trying to be the latest in the "lets look like Tiktok" trend as you're far from the only one doing it.  We need simplicity, efficiency, and ease of use returned to both desktop and mobile apps.  You have disjointed elements that have no meaningful relation (i.e. clicking on the "now playing" widget that exists to the left of player controls to expand and view the album cover, only to have an entire freaking pane crop on on the right side of the screen.

I enjoyed Spotify the best when it was doing its own thing.  It was easy to scroll through your mixes or recommendations and discover new things.  Now its a chore to even find your mixes. I have a "Good <timeofday>" section that monopolizes the top third of the screen with information thats duplicated in the persistent Library pane to the left. The new (and hated) Audiobooks section takes up the remaining real estate on the Home screen. You might get to see a single array of "recommended" items but only within a single genre or theme.   I don't need or want what people misname as "AI" to tell me what it thinks I want.  I want to tell it what I want and then let it build suggestions around it (like it used to be).   If I don't wanna see audiobook recommendations, let me hide them.  If I don't want to see podcast recommendations, let me hide them. I get that all design teams think that the users of their app are ignorant when it comes to design, but at some point your user feedback has to matter in a meaningful way. 

I really hope this trend dies and your UX/UI team goes back to what I feel was a far stronger user interface and experience.  Please (I'm begging you) don't use someone elses app design to define your user journey. If you actually want to be like Tiktok, find out why their recommendation algorithm works so well.  If you could put that tech behind your simpler and more streamlined UX, I think you'll have the best "audio" app on the market. 

I'm trialing YouTube Music right now, and so far it reminds me a lot of what Spotify used to be and why I liked it so much. 

(You also still have a bug where in music playlists if a song becomes unavailable in spotify, it's locked forever in your playlist, greyed out so that occasionally playback hangs cause it can't play the song it doesn't have.  A+, glad thats been around for years.)