Spotify has been working overtime these past few months, and when it comes to all the new features and upgrades the best music streaming service has rolled out, I've genuinely lost count.
This year has welcomed a slew of fresh changes, and Spotify has taken a leap of faith with many of them. Most notably, the platform's plan to tackle AI has gained even more wings, but smaller tools such as its 20-pin limit mean that you can be a lot more flexible with how you curate your Library of playlists, albums, podcasts, and more.
In the pool of Spotify's new additions, these are five stand-out changes, from tools that make your experience as a listener more engaging to industry-related upgrades.
1. Speak directly to your Taste Profile
For the longest time, your Taste Profile has been embedded within Spotify's algorithm, analyzing your streaming habits and sonic preferences to feed you recommendations across the app. Recently, Spotify has brought it out from under the covers and right to your sidebar.
Now, you can talk directly to your Taste Profile, feeding it prompts to shape the recommendations it gives. Don't want to hear a particular genre? Taste Profile will stop suggesting it. Want to find a new podcast show that explores one of your niche interests? Just let Taste Profile know, and new shows will appear in your Home feed.
Following a successful first run in New Zealand earlier this year, Taste Profile has now rolled out to Premium users in the US, but Spotify hasn't told us if and when it will come to other markets.
2. AI Persona tags are on the way
Users have long criticized Spotify's poor attempts at combating AI-generated music slop, calling on the platform to tighten the screws and be more upfront and transparent, just like Deezer. As well as Verified by Spotify badges, the streamer has rolled out AI Persona tags.
As expected, AI Persona tags differentiate human artists from those that are AI-generated. But aside from this, they're designed to give you added peace of mind that the artists and music you're listening to aren't a product of AI. Additionally, artists with AI Persona tags will be excluded from all personalized recommendations by default, ensuring that your music-discovery regime remains uninfected by slop
3. Spotify expands into fitness
Spotify's Fitness hub, which sits alongside its Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks hubs, started with a partnership with Peloton, bringing over 1,400 video workouts to the app spanning running, yoga, weight training, and more.
If you're unsure of where to start, a questionnaire pop-up will appear asking you what your fitness goals are in that moment, such as ‘what movement are you in the mood for?’ and ‘how do you want to push yourself?’. From there, Spotify will generate a workout pack for you to try out.
It didn't end there; Spotify also launched Running Mode, transforming personalized playlists across different musical genres into guided running experiences. Think of it as a Couch to 5k adjacent service. At the time of its launch, I spoke with one of the brains behind Spotify Fitness, Austin Lamon, who described the hub as 'a natural extension' of how people already use Spotify.
4. Learn more about the craft with SongDNA
Word that Spotify was getting a TIDAL-like song credits tool emerged in late 2025, but it wasn't until early this year that beta users started gaining access.
The best way I can describe SongDNA is that it's like Wikipedia on steroids. When you tap on the song playback bar and scroll down to where you can find lyrics, SongDNA sits alongside it, running like a mind map that spotlights all the creatives that worked on the song.
From producers to lyricists, and individual instrument players, SongDNA ensures that every piece of the puzzle is recognized. It goes a step further, allowing you to click through the different collaborators and see which artists they've worked with and the songs they've helped bring to fruition. If you love falling down Wikipedia black holes, this one's for you.
5. Secure concert tickets with Reserved
Whenever an artist announces a major tour, it no longer sparks feelings of excitement. Instead, fans everywhere see the ticket-buying process as a battlefield, because the demand for live music has surged exponentially in a post-pandemic time.
During Spotify's Investor Day in May, the company unveiled Reserved, which grants top fans first priority for purchasing tickets to their favorite artists with no additional fees. Spotify determines if you're a genuine fan by examining your overall Spotify activity, from your streams to your shares, and will also monitor the activity of Premium users. This will help show Spotify that you're not a bot account.
Once Spotify decides that you've listened to an artist enough to earn tickets to a live show, the platform will reserve two tickets for you, which you’ll then have the chance to buy within a dedicated window (Spotify says this will be around a day). That said, Spotify says that not every fan is guaranteed an offer for tickets, and ticket offers with Reserved will be based on the tour’s location, meaning that if a tour isn’t coming to your area, there’s a chance you may not receive priority access.
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