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Spotify’s decision to introduce comment sections under podcasts should surprise no one. For years now, apps have been ripping off each other’s most popular features. Where once apps adhered to their respective “things,” today they want to do it all: You can post Stories on YouTube, use AI search tools on Instagram, and shop for clothing on TikTok. And, as of last week, you can experience the thrill of seeing what random strangers think about your favorite podcasts on Spotify.
In 2020, Spotify flirted with social tools, such as a Stories-esque feature for artists and a collaborative playlist feature for users. The following year, Spotify began allowing creators to add interactive Q and As as well as polls to their podcasts, and began providing the option to select certain answers for public view.
Spotify’s new comment section feature requires podcast publishers to review each remark submitted and select those they want to make public. But Spotify ultimately plans to implement an option for comments to default to public (and isn’t ruling out eventually extending this feature to music) so long as they meet content guidelines. (Spotify did not specify what its content guidelines are.)
This suggests that Spotify wants to be more like YouTube, which, since the aughts, has allowed largely unregulated comment sections to live below its videos.
YouTube comments, of course, are notorious for being dicey. For almost two decades, the platform has scrambled to tame its users’ feedback, which, in many cases, amounts to anonymous bullying. (The comments beneath Rebecca Black’s “Friday” video are just one example of out-of-control online harassment.) Too many YouTube commenters have also exhibited sinister, predatory behavior; in 2019, for instance, YouTube temporarily disabled comments on videos that feature children in an attempt to mitigate the platform’s apparent pedophilia problem.
Considering the fact that American political commentary occupies a considerable amount of space on Spotify’s global charts—Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, Ezra Klein, Jon Stewart, and Tucker Carlson host some of its most listened-to shows—the platform’s comment sections could very well become another outlet for rage.
Spotify is aware of such risks. In 2020, Joe Rogan—whose podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, holds the number one spot on the platform’s charts—asked Spotify to enable comments on his episodes, but the company declined, citing in part the potential for commenters to abuse the feature.
Creators who enable comments will also bear the responsibility of reviewing each one. A spokesperson for Spotify stressed to WIRED the “creator-controlled” nature of the update, saying that the company has “consistently heard that creators love having the control in their hands.”
However, this setup might deter some creators from opting in. A spokesperson for the Daily Wire, the conservative media outlet that produces The Ben Shapiro Show (Spotify’s 10th most popular podcast) tells WIRED it does not plan to make comments public on Spotify.
“We love robust debate in the comments,” the Daily Wire spokesperson says. But, she adds, moderating the forecasted volume of comments might prove to be nearly impossible. Ben Shapiro’s YouTube channel receives 3,700 comments daily, according to the spokesperson. “Assuming it would take about 30 seconds to review each one [on Spotify], it would take 30 hours a day—more than three full-time positions—to moderate,” she says. “I can’t imagine who would take on this expensive burden.”
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This obstacle might in part explain why many of the platform’s top podcasts still have zero comments. A recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience (a show with a reported 14.5 million followers) that has been available for close to a week has just 28 public comments. Some listeners welcomed the update: “I’ve been waiting for Spotify comments,” wrote one user. Others seem wary of the addition of a public discussion forum: “Wait we can comment? Oh no,” wrote someone else.
Among creators who do choose to review and publish comments, tolerance for negativity will vary. While some may not want to publicize harsh feedback, others may see value in putting criticism in plain sight. Hate has actually helped bolster the careers of some leading YouTubers—a number of the platform’s prominent creators have capitalized on the ubiquity of mean comments.
Spotify plans to have at least some oversight in deciding whether its content guidelines are met, but made clear that it is generally delegating moderation to creators at this point. (“Our threshold for what we would consider to be controversial or problematic is probably very different than a more middle-of-the-road, nonpolitical podcast,” the Daily Wire spokesperson says.)
Spotify seems to be treading lightly into the social media realm, possibly in an attempt to avoid the mistakes of a similar venture, iTunes Ping, which Apple launched in 2010. The music-focused social network—which was immediately inundated with spam—was discontinued just two years after its release. (And while Apple Podcasts now gives users the ability to rate and review shows, there is no general comment section.)
Nonsocial spaces on the internet are increasingly rare. While awareness of the pitfalls of social networking grows, tech companies are making it increasingly difficult for users to go online without seeing public commentary from strangers. In apps’ relentless pursuit of our attention, creativity and innovation seem to be out of style, and the cherry-picking of preexisting ideas has become standard practice.
With the incredibly popular Wrapped, Spotify has proved it can develop successful, unique features that are semisocial without inviting the chaos that comments can bring. Listening to music and podcasts on Spotify is typically a solitary experience—the likes of which are becoming few and far between. Why mess with a good thing for the sake of becoming more like every other app?
