Google Assistant devices re-direct to random albums with similar names

[ProMataw]

Plan

Premium

Country

UK

Device

Google Home Mini

Operating System

My Question or Issue
When searching for personalized playlists, Google Assistant devices re-direct to random albums with similar names.

I've got a routine within the Google Home app to “shuffle my daily mix 3 on Spotify” 

Until mid April it worked as expected, recently it’s starting playing Daily Drive. I’ve messed around with the wording & sometimes it plays songs recommend to me (Based on the album Daily Mix 3 by Luis Masters) but will no longer play the thing I’m after.. My daily mix 3. 

This has been an issue in the past with the album by Luis masters, I got around it by changing the wording but no luck this time.  

Can this be looked into please.

[ProMataw]

Hey everyone,

Thank you for your messages and for making us aware of this behavior. 

To investigate this again on our side, @chrixar, @marcolopespt and @Tagro1 include the following info in your next response: 

- Your device info (make/model) and OS version

- Exact Spotify version

Also, and if possible; could any of you record a short video where we can take a better look? You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert Video option in the post editor. You can also upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video has the permissions for anyone to see it).
 

We'll be on the lookout for your response.

[Gracieness]

I am having the same issue, and I've done all of the above. No matter how I word the command, Google home will NOT play any of my Spotify playlists even though it has worked in the past. It stopped working last month. 

[marcolopespt]

SINCE THE LAST 2 DAYS, Spotify is not playing the correct playlists using Google assistant or Google home/Nest voice commands!!

I used the voice commands for more than 6 months, EVERY DAY!

Even when playing playlists with similar names, it was straightforward! 

"Play discover weekly" it would play the discover weekly playlist! 

"Play my discover weekly" it would play the my discover weekly playlist! 

Since the last 2 days, even when I say "play discover weekly playlist", it just plays a song from some lp that is not even on my library, that has some similarity with the name!

What changed in the Spotify api??

Tried "everything" through the Google home app!

- Selected Spotify as default music provider (there was a BUG that prevented the songs to be played by voice command IF the default provider was selected - now it's just a MESS either it is selected or NOT)

- Unselected Spotify as default music provider

- UNLINKED and RELINKED Spotify as the default music provider!

- Rebooted the devices (tested on 2 devices, one standalone and one STEREO PAIR)

Please resolve this!

My Google home devices are rendered useless! This was the only working feature that was keeping me still using these devices... now it's also bugged!!

[marcolopespt]

There is already a post about the same / similar issue that was detected in the past, but none of the suggestions given here work: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Other-Podcasts-Partners-etc/Spotify-playlists-and-google-home-issue...

[marcolopespt]

OK, this is a problem that affects ALL interactions made with Spotify, either with voice or Google Home Routines!

So, the problem is generic...

The music search if completely OFF...

SPOTIFY SHOULD GO THROUGH THE PERSONAL PLAYLISTS FIRST, OR EVEN THE PINNED ONES, and only then move to LPS, and then SONGS.

EVEN WHEN WE USE THE PLAYLIST WORD, before or after the playlist name, the search is completely off, playing a random ALBUM or SONG!!!

Please FIX THIS!!!

[Maria]

Hey there @ProMataw,

Thanks for reaching out on the Community!

Could you check if the same thing happens after setting Spotify as the default music player? You can do this by following the steps under Set Spotify as the default on this page.

Also, do you notice a difference when adding "playlist" at the end of the voice command? For example - "Hey Google, play my daily mix 3 playlist".

Keep us posted on how it goes!

[NthMadmartigan]

I am having the same problem. Had it working for the last while (after having the same Luis Masters problem that plagued others in the past), and now the issue is happening again. Spotify account is linked to my Google account as the preferred music service, and all software is up to date. Can we please have Spotify set preferences of requested playlists in the order of Personal Playlist > Subscribed Playlist > Public Playlist. AND/OR have the option to request a playlist by some unique identifier because so many playlists share similar or the exact same names (sometimes internationally so -- looking at you Luis Masters).

[Ivelina]

Hey @marcolopespt,

Welcome to the Community and thanks for sending over all of these details regarding Google Assistant/Home devices.

Did you notice when this behavior started and if it was after any specific event? Does this only occur when you're asking Google to play Spotify-created playlists such as Discover Weekly or even with playlists that are created by you?

As a starting point and if you haven't already done this I recommend making sure that you're using the newest Spotify version, as well as to check for any pending software updates on your devices. 

It's worth mentioning that some playlists have tricky names and the ones that you've created can be renamed to simpler ones. As a workaround to the playlists which names you can't edit, you can make a copy of them and give them an easy to pronounce name that Google can understand. 

Lastly, if there's no difference and so we can take a look at how things look like from your end, it'd be great if you could send us a video recording which you can attach to your response via the Insert Video option in the post editor. If the attachment is too big then you can instead upload it to Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video has the permissions for anyone to see it).

Thanks and we'll be on the lookout.

[howag]

This problem is happening to me also and seems to return every few months. NOTHING works to fix it. They allow users to create a "Discover Weekly" and a "Daily Mix" playlist that will get played when you verbally tell Google Assistant to play "Discover Weekly Playlist" or "Daily Mix 1 playlist". The only workaround is to launch the playlist directly from Spotify app. I believe this is a spotify problem and they should not allow those deceptive playlists to be created.

[AlejaR]

Hey there @NthMadmartigan,

Thanks for your reply and your insights.

We'd suggest you clear the cache for both the Spotify app and for the Google Home app to see if you noticed any difference. For Spotify, you can go to Settings and privacy> Storage> Clear cache.

For the Google Home app, on most mobile devices, go to your device's Settings> Apps> Google Home> Storage & cache> Clear cache. Remember, this might vary depending on the mobile device.

On another note, we understand where you're coming from, and we really appreciate the time you took to let us know your comments on the matter. We've located an idea that might interest you:

• Prevent users from creating Albums/Playlists named "Daily Mix [x]" (0>x>7)

We'd suggest you add your vote to this idea to show your support, or post your own suggestion. Make sure to follow our Idea Exchange guidelines if you choose to do so.

We'll be on the lookout!

[marcolopespt]

Hi Ivelina,

When i make a post, i assure that all the relevant info is there. So, please, take the time to read my first post and following answer...

"This is a problem that affects ALL interactions made with Spotify, either with voice or Google Home Routines" AND with Android Google Assistant... and... and...

- This seems to be related to the way SPOTIFY returns the RESULTS when inquired by GOOGLE services.

- This started happening few days ago. Still on!

- This happens when i ask to play a PLAYLIST that has SIMILAR or EXACT name has an LP or SONG on the Spotify CATALOG!

- There is a SONG on the SPOTIFY CATALOG called "Discover Weekly" (go wonder!) and when a say "Play Discover Weekly" Spotify plays that "song" called "Discover Weekly"

- There is an LP called "Discovery", and sometimes Spotify starts playing that LP!

- IF i say "Play Discover Weekly PLAYLIST", the same exact behaviour occurs! (using the word PLAYLIST on a voice command was the way to differentiate what the user wants... NOW it's ignored)

I always have the latest version of Spotify on all devices, but when someone asks about that, i wonder what they specific knowledge about what I'm talking about! There is NO NEED TO HAVE ANY SPOTIFY APP INSTALLED ON ANY DEVICE to play Spotify music using VOICE COMMANDS on the GOOGLE ecosystem! The Music Provider is LINKED through configuration and stays that way until is UNLINKED!!)

BTW, i have Spotify PREMIUM.

[howag]

100% agree with everything marcolopespt states. My experience is identical and has only started to happen in the last three weeks for me.

[danbowden]

This issue seems to have come back again with my Discover Weekly, and is the same with my Daily Mix playlists. Is this more a Google issue than Spotify?

Can we reopen this thread?

[Ivelina]

Hey @howag, welcome to the thread and thanks for the provided information @marcolopespt. We really appreciate it.

Upon further investigation, we've had reports of this in the past and checking backstage we can confirm that this behavior is on Google's end and they can help further with this. 

We are not getting many reports of the issue on our end and we see that you have posted on Google's forum where there are quite a few users with a similar case.

We will be keeping an eye out for more reports and let you know as soon as we have more to share.

If anything else comes up in the meantime that we can assist you with, let us know.

Take care!

[NthMadmartigan]

Hi and thanks for the response. I tried that but it didn't change anything. I wasn't expect it to because when I ask my Google Assistant to "play my daily mix 2 playlist" it doesn't seem to be involving my phone's apps. Still, as a test, I went into a room without my a Google home product and asked my phone the same thing (this time including "on Spotify" just in case), it still played something else on my Google home device. I believe in this instance, because Google is aware my phone is on the same network as my devices, it's using my phone more like a closer microphone. Either way, my issue doesn't seem to be with my phone, it's when I request the personalized playlists through my home devices or as part of a routine.

[Susan_GP]

Hi there @danbowden,

Thanks for your reply in this thread.

First up, could you send over a detailed description of the situation? Does this only happen when asking the Google Assistant or Google Home device to play your personalized playlists? 

On another note, let us know if this started happening after an update or recent change and if you've tried any troubleshooting steps.

We'll be here.

[serbanpaun]

@Susan_GP Why would your ask the same question that was already answered 3 years ago?!?!

Don't you read the comments here?

[howag]

Ivelina, while I agree this latest issue could be Google's, I have to ask why Spotify let's a user create a playlist called "Discover Weekly" or "Daily Mix" or "Daily Mix 1" when those are obviously reserved named playlists that Spotify creates to enhance our experience. It just creates confusion. You should prohibit "Discover Weekly" and "Daily Mix" to avoid Google and Alexa issues with finding those.

[marcolopespt]

How can this be on google's side?

Is google making the wrong queries??

This only happens because the "query" doesn't give priority to Playlists... or disregards the playlist keywork.

Can you point me out the API used by google to query Spotify service?

[marcolopespt]

That's not the problem...

And "Discover Weekly" is a playlist created BY Spotify. The user cannot change it's name...

But that's not the point!

The point is that PRIORITY WAS given to PLAYLISTS.

If case of confusion (wrong results) the user just had to say "xxxxxxx PLAYLIST" and problem solved!

Now, with or without playlist, the "spotify query" is ignoring the search by PLAYLIST first, then LP and then SONG.

To make things worse, using the keyword PLAYLIST does nothing when there are songs / LPs / Playlists with similar name (priority is given to Songs / LPs!)

To be correct, there was (still is?) a problem on Google Side: for the search to work well, i could not have a DEFAULT MUSIC service selected in Google Home configuration... i had to select NONE (otherwise the search was problematic). This is the only clue that can point towards Google being the culprit here (otherwise, having Spotify or other music provider selected as the default would not make a difference in the results)