If you’re a parent, you probably know the struggle: you are singing along to your favorite songs on Spotify only for your Wrapped to resemble the music selection of a children’s birthday. Why? Because your kids have been taking over your account, transforming your perfectly calculated algorithm into a mixture of Baby Shark dance songs.
But do not worry, Spotify is here to help you! It is used to help you maintain a clean algorithm and your mental health in one place as they’ve recently introduced a new feature.
A Solution for Parents
Spotify is already trying out a new pilot in Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden for families with kids under the age of 13. This new feature enables children to have their own accounts in the Company under the Premium Family Plan within which parents would set what the kids listen to. You can imagine it like handing them a “sandbox” type of Spotify where you can let them have all the fun without completely insulting your musical taste.
Why Spotify Decided to Make Such a Change
In the past, Spotify has already attempted to solve this problem or rather help parents avoid it. In 2020, the company introduced the Spotify Kids app, and in 2021, they introduced the option of excluding some playlists from the algorithm for the main profile. However, children would still be using the main account and thus disrupt the manipulation of the algorithm.
What is a new pilot program that has been introduced to solve this problem in a more efficient and sustainable manner?
Now, parents control their kids’ accounts through the app and they can change settings such as skipping songs which contain some bad words.
Why it Matters to Parents
Parents everywhere can relate to this: you check your Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year to find only your favorite songs displayed in the list. However, when one arrives, there for sure they are met by a top five list that consists of children’s songs.
That is why this feature might be a game changer. It allows parents to listen to their own music of choice without having to switch back and forth between two versions or manually correcting the suggestion that was not tailored for kids and family.
Not Yet Available Everywhere
However, as much as this may sound, the feature is not yet fully launched for production. Currently it is limited to only Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden only till a certain extent. As for when parents based in the U. S. can join in the fun, there is still no word yet, but it should not be too long now, hopefully. US families today spend $19.99 a month for the Premium Family Plan that has multiple accounts but no features aimed specifically at kids.
Wrapping It Up
Introducing the new managed accounts feature might just be what parents have been needing—an option to listen to their favorite tunes without being concerned with their children’s preferences dominating the platform. Yes, it isn’t going to solve all the issues that come with parenting, but excluding ‘Baby Shark do do’ from your Spotify Wrapped. That’s a small victory that everyone can support and I suppose we all need small victories in our life.
Therefore, if you are one of those parents who enjoy indie playlists but struggle with kids’ music, this is probably going to be your favorite new feature on Spotify. It is that slight modification which matches the massive difference by allowing your family to listen to music the way they want while you get to listen to your favorite tunes without any interruption.
