Spotify has unveiled an upcoming interactive feature called SongDNA that’s designed to show you the samples, collaborators, and covers included in a given track, the company announced. As part of that update, Spotify also revealed that it has acquired WhoSampled, the company behind the SongDNA technology.
“Through our recent discussions with Spotify, it became clear that we share a strong belief in the power of musical context – and a vision of helping listeners dig deeper into their favorite songs,” the WhoSampled team wrote in a blog post.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Spotify is acquiring both the WhoSampled team and its database. WhoSampled’s standalone platform and brand will continue to operate following the agreement with improvements such as faster moderation times, elimination of display ads, and free downloads and subscriptions for its mobile apps.
Spotify Premium users will see the SongDNA feature in the “Now Playing” view. It is described as a way to see connections between songs, “showing collaborations, samples, and covers all in one place,” Spotify wrote.
in the song Kiss Me More (feat. SZA)For example, SongDNA shows Doja Cat and SZA as lead artists, along with Carter Lang and two other musicians. This suggests that a sample of Olivia Newton-John has been used. Physical And That kiss me more It has been covered several times, most prominently in the Japanese version by artist Reinich.
Spotify is also working on a feature called “About Songs”, showing swipeable cards in the “Now Playing” view. They’ll reveal information like a song’s inspiration, how the music was created, and cultural influence – all with links to sources.
London-based Who Sampled tracks over 1.2 million songs and 622,000 samples with covers, remixes and artists in its database. Its mobile app offers a Shazam-style music recognition service that can tell you the song you’re listening to and any samples it may contain. The two companies have previously partnered on a deal that allows WhoSampled users to access their Spotify playlists and tracks.