Spotify’s new feature lets you explore the story behind the song you’re listening to

Spotify is introducing a new feature called "About the Song" that allows listeners to explore the stories behind the tracks they're playing, the company announced on Friday. The feature presents a series of short-story cards that users can swipe through and react to with thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

According to Spotify, these swipeable story cards are summarised from third-party sources. They are designed to surface interesting facts, creative insights, and behind-the-scenes moments related to each song.

With About the Song, Spotify is offering users a feature not currently available on competing platforms, such as Apple Music.

The feature is launching in beta on mobile devices in English. It will initially be available to premium subscribers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.

Listeners can find About the Song within the "Now Playing" screen by scrolling down until they see the dedicated card on supported tracks. From there, they can swipe through multiple story slides to learn more about the music's background and inspiration.

"Music fans know the feeling: A song stops you in your tracks, and you immediately want to know more," Spotify wrote in a blog post. "What inspired it, and what's the meaning behind it? We believe that understanding the craft and context behind a song can deepen your connection to the music you love."

The rollout of About the Song comes during a busy period for Spotify, which has announced several new features in recent days.

Yesterday, the streaming service announced that users in the U.S. and U.K. will soon be able to purchase physical copies of their favourite audiobooks directly through the app. Spotify also introduced two new audiobook-related features, including "Page Match," which allows users to scan a page from a physical book and instantly jump to the corresponding point in the audiobook, as well as "Audiobook Recaps."

Earlier this week, Spotify expanded lyrics translations to users worldwide and added offline lyrics viewing for all listeners, not only premium subscribers. The company also changed the placement of lyrics in the app, moving them directly beneath album artwork or the short, looping video that plays alongside songs.

Earlier today, Spotify also announced changes to its Developer Mode APIs, which developers use to test third-party applications. Those updates include a requirement that developers maintain a premium account, limits on test user counts, and a reduced set of available API endpoints.