Updated 8 January 2026 at 12:40 IST
Spotify Adds Messages: How to Chat, React, Stream and Start Jams Without Leaving the App
Spotify has launched its new Messages feature, letting users chat, react, share tracks, and start Jams without leaving the app. Learn how to enable Listening Activity, join collaborative sessions, and explore Spotify’s expanded tools for creators and video podcasters.
Spotify is making frequent upgrades to stay at the top of the streaming game, and its latest move is the launch of Messages, a feature designed to keep music sharing and social interaction inside the app. Instead of copying links to WhatsApp or Instagram, users can now chat, react, and even start collaborative listening sessions directly on Spotify.
How It Works
To use Messages, listeners first need to enable Listening Activity in the Privacy & Social section of Settings. Once switched on, your current track appears at the top of your chat window. Friends can tap your activity to play the song, save it, open the menu, or drop a quick emoji reaction.
Premium subscribers get an extra layer of fun: the ability to initiate a Jam. By tapping the Jam option in the corner of a chat, they can invite friends to join a shared queue. If accepted, both users can add tracks and listen together in real time. Free users can join these sessions when invited, but only Premium members can start them.
Spotify has long been a place to discover music, but social sharing often happened elsewhere. Messages aims to change that by keeping conversations and listening experiences within the app. The company hopes this will boost engagement and encourage more users to upgrade to Premium.
The launch of Messages comes as Spotify is also expanding its monetisation program for creators and rolling out new tools for video podcasters. Over the past five years, the Swedish streaming giant has invested more than $10 billion into podcast infrastructure, betting big on video formats to rival platforms like YouTube and Netflix.
Executives say consumption of video podcasts has nearly doubled since the monetisation program began, with average users now streaming twice as many shows per month. By lowering the thresholds for creators to join, Spotify is positioning itself as a more attractive home for podcasters in a crowded market.
Published By : Priya Pathak
Published On: 8 January 2026 at 12:40 IST