Spotify ‘Jam’ lets you collaborate with friends on the Now Playing queue

Spotify is launching a new collaboration feature in “Jam” which allows up to 32 people control a music playlist in real-time from their own devices.

Rolling out starting today, “Jam” will allow Spotify users to open up playback on their device or speakers to a group of friends and family, giving everyone a chance to have input on the music queue, all in real-time.

A “Jam” is effectively an invite code to the ongoing music playback, with one person sharing the invite with other Spotify users to allow them access to the queue. Starting a “Jam” is only available to Spotify Premium subscribers, but even free account holders can contribute to the queue. Invites can be shared via a QR code or a link.

Once people have joined the “Jam” (up to 32 are supported), they can contribute songs to the list and everyone can see who added what songs. The host of the “Jam” can then change the order or songs and, if needed, remove tracks.

Collaborative playlists are nothing new, but Spotify’s approach for real-time collaboration for the active music queue seems fun and useful. Premium subscribers will start seeing the “Start a Jam” button when tapping the speaker icon on the Now Playing screen.

More on Spotify:

• Spotify Supremium lossless audio – planned pricing looks to be $20/month
• Spotify ‘Daylist’ tries to match your music to the time of day
• Spotify’s new Android widget pairs now playing with recommendations