Spotify's latest test nudges users to react to playlists with a voice clip

Spotify is trying another method to get people more engaged with the platform while tapping into the power of social recommendations. It's prompting some users in Vietnam to record a playlist reaction with their voice. This clip will be shared as a podcast episode.

Those who see the prompt, which a Reddit user spotted, can create a voice reaction in one go or piecemeal with shorter clips by pausing the recording. They can edit their captures and add background music. They'll be able to link to the playlist before posting their episode.

Spotify confirmed to TechCrunch that it's running the test, though it didn't reveal how it will moderate the recordings or whether it plans to roll out the feature more broadly. Theoretically, this could lead to people dabbling in audio creation for the first time, but whether people actually want to hit the record button to react to a playlist remains to be seen.

Spotify has been testing an in-app podcast recording option off and on for years. In a recent trial that took place in New Zealand, it published podcast episodes that a user recorded to that person's profile. That seems a smart way for the company to take advantage of friend connections on Spotify — a playlist recommendation from a buddy is perhaps more effective than one suggested by the algorithm. Recording a reaction podcast to offer a recommendation seems unnecessary, though.