Spotify’s New Feature to Put Focus on Music Credits?

Spotify is reportedly working on a new feature called ‘SongDNA,’ which would highlight the credits of those who worked on a given track or album, from writers, collaborators, vocalists and engineers to lyricists, producers, composers and more.

Unconfirmed:

• As per TechCrunch, the news was broken by reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, who discovered the feature in the app’s code and was able to generate screenshots of how SongDNA would appear on the platform.

• Her findings were supported by reverse engineer and technologist Chris Messina, who also found references to the feature within the app’s code.

• Though Spotify has since removed those references, it has not denied the feature’s existence.

How it could work:

• Judging from Wong’s screenshots, SongDNA would allow users to explore the credits of each contributor to a song or album, and their connections with other creatives.

The potential impact:

• For behind the scenes professionals such as engineers and songwriters? Huge – their credits can be used to secure royalties, but also to act as a resume through which they can gain more work.

• Same too for A&R people searching for collaborators for their artists.

• For fans it could serve as a music discovery tool, with users able to investigate creators' other credits.

• The feature could also challenge streaming competitor TIDAL and its interactive credits.