Every year, around this time, Spotify makes my day.
Each user gets a personalised summary of the music they’ve listened to during the year, culminating in a playlist of their Top 100 most played songs.
Another excellent feature is the resurfacing of Top 100 playlists from previous years. For me, it’s like jumping in a time machine and going back to moods, places, and moments when particular songs played a big part in my life.
In product design, these are examples of ‘Delight’ features. They are cherry-on-top moments that give your product soul, rather than part of the core experience.
And this got me thinking.
At the time of posting, Spotify has 50 million hours of music in its library. That’s 70 human lifetimes’ worth; which is hard to fathom.
But Spotify isn’t selling quantity, it’s selling possibility.
Whatever song you want, you’ll find it there. And based on what you listen to, it’ll help you discover new artists. And at the end of the year, you get a hit of nostalgia that you didn’t know you needed.
Products are made in the small moments.
P.S. Here’s my playlist for the year. Feel free to share yours with me!