Spotify's New Smart Playlist Trusts Your Friends' Taste In Music

Spotify is making it easier to get music recommendations from friends without actually asking them for it, thanks to a new feature called Friends Mix. This is a new playlist created by Spotify's algorithm that will be populated by songs based on the listening habits of your friends who are also hooked to the streaming platform. The goal is to create a continuously refreshing list of tracks that are based on mutual interests in music.

The Friends Mix playlist will appear in the Made for You hub, right beside the Create a Blend button. The positioning of these two features next to each other is not a coincidence, because you will need to create a Blend first before the Friends Mix playlist appears for you. Spotify says you need to create at least three Blends before you can access the Friends Mix collection.

If you haven't used Blends before, it's a feature that lets two users create a shared playlist. Blends update daily based on the listening pattern of the participants, and it is available to both free and paying users of the platform. Interestingly, Spotify's press release notes that the Friends Mix feature is only available for iOS and desktop, but there's no word when it will appear for the Android app.

You need to create at least three Blends before the Friends Mix playlist slides into your music hub on Spotify. Here's how you can do it:

1. Open the Spotify app (mobile or desktop)
2. Enter "Blend" in the search field at the top.
3. You will see a Blend result below the search box. Click or tap on it to land on the invite page.
4. Click or tap the pill-shaped Invite button. 
5. Share with friends via SMS, email, or social media.

Once your friend(s) accept the invite, Spotify will automatically create a shared playlist based on each person's listening taste. Repeat the process till you have created three Blends. As soon as that happens, you will see the Friends Mix playlist appear in the Made For You hub.

Just like Blends, Spotify says the Friends Mix playlist will also be updated on a daily basis, ensuring that you keep discovering fresh music based on the dynamic music listening pattern of your friend circle. And just like Blend, you don't need a Premium subscription for getting the Friends Mix playlist because it is available to all Spotify users.