Bring back the longer Release Radar for users with lots of subscriptions

[dimiusko]

Release Radar used to have up to 200 songs and was around 8-12 hours long if you follow many artists.

No, this was not some kind of an intermittent bug, this is what many people used to consistently have for years.

Now it shrinked to just around 2 hours and 30 songs max. Here is a whole thread full of dissatisfied customers complaining that their Release Radar got shorter despite following thousands of artists:

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Content-Questions/Release-Radar-only-30-tracks-max/td-p/6245103

The web player still shows 150 songs and more than 8 hours of music for me when I browse the playlist while Iogged out. But it seems it purposefully hides the majority of the tracks while I'm logged in or am using the app (see the screenshots below).

Spoiler

I can hardly imagine how this is improving user experience for your paying customers.

[ApexDomps]

It looks like the web app has been updated too, and now Spotify claims that Release Radar was always meant to be limited to 30 tracks, which is honestly a blatant lie. It seems pretty clear to me that they’ve likely struck a deal with record labels to push specific artists and agendas onto users. I get that this is a business move, but it feels really unfair to alienate loyal customers just to make a quick buck. I’ve followed over 2,000 artists and loved the excitement of waiting until 11:59 to see my Release Radar update with new songs I actually care about. This change will definitely affect how I use and feel about Spotify.

[auddiesweet]

Please bring back the longer list of songs. This was one of the sole reasons I use Spotify and this is deeply disheartening.

[Fatmaa]

One of the advantages that spotify had over other music streaming services was the release radar playlist. I had used many music streaming apps before but once spotify became available in my country I never looked back. So, limiting the release radar playlist to only 30 tracks is a big disappointment & I’m seriously considering going back to one of the other apps that I have used before.

[goodfella66]

I don't know whether this may be a bug in the system. If I play using shuffle on the app, my release radar plays tracks beyond the 30 shown on the screen.

If it's not a bug, please bring back the extended list. 30 (record company) curated tracks is not what I or the vast majority of susscribers want.

[Mixepix]

Release Radar was the best thing with Spotify and now it's completely useless. What is even the point of following artists if they are just hidden away?

[Bizatts]

That is just bad to hide songs.

[ApexDomps]

If you let your Release Radar shuffle, it will continue to play songs released that week, supporting my belief that Spotify has struck a deal with labels or artists to promote certain tracks from those who have paid for a spot on the playlist. While you can still follow your favorite artists, the full benefits are now obscured behind a paywall, which is deeply disheartening. I hope Spotify acknowledges this issue and takes steps to correct it.

[tunedIN]

Dear Spotify

Please restore our Release Radars to reflect the artists WE are following. 

I am concerned that smaller artists are going to suffer because of this change. They rely on their followers receiving their new releases in Release Radars. Now this is clearly not going to happen. 

As a new music playlist curator if this is not sorted by this Friday at 0000 NZT, I am then forced to check my notifications in Tidal, Amazon Music and Apple Music. This is a major inconvenience in my workflow. Do you want to drive me and other curators away from your platform? 

It seems to me that Spotify has no respect at all for independent playlist curators who spend more hours doing what we do, than your curators work in an entire week. We have less resources to rely on than what your curators do, and now we are being steamrolled by this latest change. 

I for one will have no problem cancelling my Spotify Subscription because of this. If I am going to be forced to seek new music from artists I follow in other platforms, I may as well just work in those platforms. 

Moderator Joan's comment on this topic that our Release Radar is meant to be 30 songs is a blatant lie. I suspect a cover up for another motive behind this change. 

 

[d_aria]

It just looks like another money-grabbing step to milk artists and subscribers even more. I really loved this playlist, but if they're going to use it as an another marketplace for selling "spots' in the playlist to artists who pay more, than I'd rather unsubscribe 😞

[tunedIN]

Let's hope that Spotify can hear our collective voices. If not you won't be the only person leaving.