Spotify launched its beta for Group Sessions back in May, but this week, the music streaming service is introducing a new functionality for the beta. Starting this week, Premium users can get together and host remote listening parties, where members of a group can control playback of a playlist or podcast all remotely.
To briefly explain the difference, the other functionality is for a shared device. This new feature allows participants to have music streamed on multiple devices, such as family members in different cities. For example, my brother in the Bay Area and I in Portland can be in Group Session, both add songs to a playlist, then have that playlist play on our own devices simultaneously. If one of us pauses the song or skips a track, the change is reflected immediately on the other person’s device.
To get started with this, “Click or tap the Connect menu in the bottom-left corner of the play screen and scroll down to ‘Start a group session.’ Then, share the invite link with your guests or have them scan the Spotify code to join the session.”
From there, both the host and guests can pause, play, skip, and select tracks on the queue. If one person makes a change, it will immediately be reflected on all participant devices.
Pretty sweet, right?
Google Play Link
// Spotify