Spotify is seemingly preparing to introduce group listening sessions – a feature already available to phone and tablet users – on the desktop.
This is still a rumor, so add your own seasoning in appropriate amounts, but a denizen of Reddit (OhItsTom) has provided a screen grab of the feature in action on a desktop PC, and Chris Messina on Mastodon spotted the functionality in desktop Mac app code.
We’re told that group listening sessions will be cross-platform, so you can hook up with friends on Spotify (Premium) regardless of what device they’re using – desktop or mobile – and that it’ll be possible to share control over the session with other users (anyone can choose what songs are played).
It’s easy enough to start what Spotify calls a remote group session (but only on mobile devices currently, as noted). All you have to do is find that option in the ‘Devices’ icon (little speaker) at the bottom of the screen, tap on ‘Start a remote group session’, and then ‘Invite friends’ (you’ll need to be online, of course).
You can then share a link with your friends to get them into the session, and get that tune-based party started.
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Hopefully, group sessions for desktop will be arriving pretty soon, then. It’s certainly taken long enough, considering the functionality debuted for mobile some three years ago.
The implementation is fairly basic, the same as with mobile, but it’ll be great to have the option to connect on Windows PCs and Macs, as well as on the best smartphones and tablets. Opening up sessions to more friends has to be a good thing, after all.
Can’t you already access other options to do this on desktop? Well, as some folks have pointed out in the above threads, you can use the Spicetify tool to customize Spotify for this – but it’s a command line utility, and rather messy, so a properly integrated feature from the developer is clearly going to be a superior option.
Expect this feature to debut in the US (and Canada) first, mind, and it might be some time before a wider rollout. Still, it’s good to see that desktop group sessions are finally about to arrive (fingers crossed).
It’s worth remembering that Spotify recently redesigned its desktop app, and that rollout has likely reached you by now.