“Enjoy the next thirty minutes of uninterrupted listening.”
We all know which app says this often.
Yes, it’s none other than Spotify!
The platform allows you to ‘spot’ and ‘identify’ all your favorite songs and podcasts under one roof. Hence the name!
As much as I loathe the advertisements and videos shown by Spotify, I love it dearly. It has been a part of my time battling the lockdown blues. One of the features I love is sharing the song titles on my Instagram stories.
So what does music sound like during the lockdown?
Though people were forced to stay locked in their homes, it didn’t stop them from bonding with their friends and family. That’s where the perks of technology steps in. It proved to be a boon by letting everyone be close to their loved ones through their screens. The mute and unmute options escalated conversations and went the extra mile of creating a bridge between loved ones. Overall, people stayed far but still became closer to their dearest ones.
One such bonding is of music! People in Italy connected with their neighbors by singing and dancing in their balconies. It set a quaint and light mood all over amidst the dark pandemic times. This way of bonding immediately spread across several other countries such as India, France, America, Israel, and many others. Slowly, youngsters started to arrange booming speakers and mini-stages in their residential terraces, taking the sound of music as far as possible.
This musical attachment helped people to shed their boredom and disdain of the pandemic. It felt like people just needed a boost of confidence to get back to their joviality. Needless to say, people started to see half of a yellow sun, i.e. the commencement of a new future that necessarily need not be totally negative.
That said, along with almost every sector and aspect transforming due to coronavirus, the world of music has also changed.
With the world getting condensed within the four walls of the home, podcasts and playlists have seen a massive hit. Here’s how Spotify uplifted the musical spirits of the people:
World of podcasts:
Podcasts are available in a wide array of genres just like books and films. Spotify is home to about 500,000 podcasts! Right from crime to funny yet sarcastic life advice, motivational bits, to knowledgeable, storytelling podcasts, you are all covered!
My personal favorite is The Michelle Obama Podcast. But there are many others for you to drown into, a few recommendations being- In the Dark, Stuff you should know, Invisibilia, My Favorite Murder, This is Love, etc.
Is that all? Definitely not!
Spotify, owing to the eve of the ever-growing lockdown, took it upon itself to convey relevant and accurate news, political happenings, and finance. Coin Talk is a financial pod that gives you all answers about handling money. The podcast You’re wrong about enlightens people about history and political events. it gives a reality check to people about just how much they know and if it’s correct or not. Coronavirus: fact vs. fiction is a one-stop pod that gives you all answers to your pandemic questions.
These news podcasts seem to not dwell around the common perception, rumor, and conspiracy, but as accurate as possible in giving information.
Personalized Theme Playlists:
The lockdown seems to have turned over the usual routine of people. It’s no more the 9-to-5 office days but living at your own pace. The lockdown has given people the time to reflect on themselves and domestic chores. People have started to curate their playlists, one for every household chore they are into- cooking playlists, mediation playlists, a playlist created by the bathroom singer for himself, and playlists that sing a tune to mend your work-from-home blues!
Also, people are somehow in a calmer mood. This has given rise to listening to instrumental, karaoke music that is soothing to the earbuds.
Sharing music socially:
Spotify allows people to collaborate over a specific playlist. Various people can contribute to a playlist and indulge in musical get-togethers while at home.
Here’s how you can make a collaborative playlist: https://support.spotify.com/us/article/create-playlists-with-your-friends/
Sound of music during a lockdown:
To sum up, the pandemic has given so much free time. But it is necessarily not as comfortable as the world around is becoming unpredictable every passing day. That’s when the sound of music helps us to find peace and calm within lyrics and playlists.
And Spotify knows just right on how to change itself according to the changing form of streaming amid the people.
Halin Roche 