Photo Credit: Spotify
Spotify is debuting a new playlist generator to create a playlist for pets. Users can choose to create a Spotify pet playlist for five different types of pets.
A new Spotify pet playlist website has launched to help Spotify users get started. Users can choose from cat, dog, iguana, bird, or hamster to begin generating a playlist. You’re also asked to define a few personality traits about your pet – are they energetic or relaxed, shy, or friendly?
Users can then upload a photo of their pet and its name to see a Spotify pet playlist customized for their pet.
The playlist seems to generate music it thinks the owner will enjoy based on the parameters. For my energetic, friendly, and curious dog Luna, Spotify recommended a collection of artists that seem to riff off of my own playlists.
Honestly, this is a ploy to set Spotify apart from Apple Music by attracting pet owners to create a playlist. A recently published study in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science found that cats do enjoy music, just not human music.
Researchers found that cats preferred some cat-appropriate tracks designed with cats in mind. They barely reacted to two human songs, Bach’s “Air on a G String” and Gabriel Fauré’s “Elegie.” You can hear music created specifically for cats below.
Spotify pet playlists are also a convenient way for Spotify to collect a lot of advertising data. Now a music streaming company can create an accurate picture of pet ownership. The playlists don’t seem to be special in any way beyond following tempo that you pick during set up.
Some people online are upset that features like this are what Spotify chooses to focus on. People have been asking for lossless playback, offline Apple Watch support, and tons of more useful features. Oh well, at least Spotify knows what kind of pets you own now, right?