Spotify Launches New Feature For Premium Subscribers, Separating Play And Shuffle Button

JAKARTA- Spotify has now completely separated the play and shuffle buttons, but this is only for Premium subscribers. Starting Monday, August 1st, Spotify announced that they are starting to roll out individual buttons for the two functions.

This button will replace the combined play/shuffle button currently at the top of the playlist and artist page. This change is expected to occur on Android and iOS devices “in the coming weeks.”

"This new change will allow you to choose your preferred mode at the top of playlists and albums and listen the way you want," Spotify wrote on its blog. “Whether you love unexpected excitement with Shuffle mode, or prefer to listen to songs in sequence with just a press of Play, Spotify has you covered.”

Spotify's penchant for shuffling tracks has, at times, drawn the frustration of artists who want their albums to be heard in the original order.

"We didn't make albums very carefully and thought about our playlist for no reason," Adele tweeted last year.

This makes Spotify show the standard play button by default on the album page instead of the play/shuffle combo.

Now, Spotify Premium subscribers will see individual buttons across the app. "From the moment you hit the play button on Spotify, you decide how you want to hear your favorite playlist or a new album you like," the company wrote.

It seems a bit ridiculous that Spotify is now using its buttons and user interface as a differentiator between its free and paid service offerings, but here it is.

Unfortunately, you can't play or shuffle any Spotify HiFi tracks yet. It's now nearly 18 months since Spotify announced its lossless quality streaming tier, and the company hasn't rolled it out to subscribers yet.