SoundCloud said today it is rolling out a TikTok-styled discovery feed with vertical scrolling and short clips from songs. Spotify started testing the feature in March and now it will be available for all users on iOS and Android in the near future.
The updated app will let users listen to a 30-second clip of a song to decide whether they want to listen to the full track. While listening to the preview, users can tap on the play button to hear the full version.
While artists can select 30 seconds from their tracks, SoundCloud relies on Musiio's AI, a startup acquired in 2022 for an improved music discovery experience, to choose the best 30 seconds from a song automatically.
The new discovery feed UI also has handy shortcut buttons to add a song to a playlist or library and to like a track so it shows up later.
The old-styled following feed can be found on the top of their screens by using the tab on the top of their screen to browse tracks published by artists they follow.
Spotify has also introduced a vertical feed with short peeks for both music and podcasts in March. The company is working on initiatives to enhance the quality of their songs and connect with fans. In May, Spotify unveiled a suite of engagement tools, including analytics and the ability to DM fans. In June, it began testing a function called First Fans, a new track that guarantees that a new track will be recommended to some users with matching tastes to give it an initial boost.
The project distributes ad or subscription money to artists based on artists users listen to, rather than on a pro-rata basis that simply counts a vast number of overall streams.
The company has laid off 8% of its staff in May to boost profitability this year. prior to that, SoundCloud cut its workforce by 20 percent last August.