Spotify is raising its social media game with the launch of a new collaborative function called Jam. It’s a group-playlisting feature that builds on the previously released Collaborative Playlist by putting the social activity in realtime, and giving it a phone-touching in-person aspect.
The realtime aspect is central in defining the experience: “If you hang together, you can jam together” is the marketing catchphrase. In-person jamming builds a group playlist by touching Bluetooth-enabled phones. Remote jamming is also supported, with invitees scanning a QR code to join the party.
The “host” controls everything, and can change the order of tracks, or remove songs.
The feature is live now in updated apps. It’s global. Premium users only can start jams, but all users can join them.