According to The Verge, Spotify is expanding its in-app messaging feature with group chats for up to 10 friends or family members. This builds on the direct messaging capability the music streaming platform launched back in August 2024. To add someone to a group, you must have previously interacted with them through other Spotify social features like Jam sessions or Collaborative Playlists. The group chat launch follows the recent mobile rollout of the Listening Activity feature, which shows what your friends are playing. Messaging, including the new group function, is available to both free and premium users.
Spotify’s Social Pivot
Here’s the thing: Spotify has been trying to crack the social code for years. Remember the weird “Friend Activity” sidebar on desktop? Or the short-lived “Tastebuds” feature? This feels like a more concerted, integrated push. Launching DMs last August was step one, creating a private conduit for sharing. Now, with groups, they’re trying to foster little communities right inside the app. It’s a logical move. Music has always been a social glue, and removing the friction of switching to another app to talk about a song is… smart. But is it too late? Most of us already have established group chats elsewhere for this exact purpose.
The Walled Garden Approach
I think the most interesting, and potentially limiting, part is the requirement that you’ve already interacted with someone on Spotify to add them. You can’t just type in your friend’s phone number. This creates a classic “walled garden.” On one hand, it probably cuts down on spam and makes the feature feel more organic, tied to actual shared listening habits. On the other hand, it seriously limits growth. If your friend isn’t already making Blend playlists or starting Jams, you can’t loop them into a chat to *get* them interested. It’s a trade-off between safety/vibes and network growth. Seems like Spotify is betting on the former.
Why Now And What’s Next?
So why roll this out now? Look, streaming is a mature game. User growth is slowing, and everyone’s looking for deeper engagement to keep people subscribed. Getting users to build social circles *inside* Spotify is a brilliant retention strategy. It makes the app stickier. You’re not just coming to listen; you’re coming to chat with your group about the new album. Basically, they’re building a moat made of playlists and inside jokes. The real test will be if they add more utility to these chats. Could we see integrated listening parties where the chat syncs with song timestamps? Or voice notes? That’s where it could actually surpass a standard texting thread.
Ultimately, it’s a solid feature update. It’s not revolutionary, but it doesn’t need to be. For the super-users who live on Spotify, it’ll be a welcome addition. For everyone else, it might just fade into the background like so many other app-based messaging attempts. But if anyone can make music-centric chats work, it’s probably the platform that has all the music. You can read more about the initial messaging launch in Spotify’s official announcement.
