Malmö University Publications
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Playlist Overload: Optimizing playlist discovery in Spotify’s Browse page
Malmö University, Faculty of Technology and Society (TS).
2025 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 180 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Streaming services like Spotify offer a large number of curated playlists on their browse page, yet users often experience difficulty navigating these dozens of playlists, leading to users not using the feature at all. While category-based browsing is intended to simplify discovery, current designs may unintentionally contribute to cognitive overload. This study addresses the lack of knowledge of how categorization strategies, particularly taxonomic versus thematic categorization, affect playlist discoverability and cognitive load. The goal was to explore whether different categorization approaches could improve user efficiency by minimizing errors and reducing the time needed to locate content. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining A/B testing with semi-structured interviews. Participants tested one of three versions of Spotify’s browse page: the original, a taxonomic version, and a thematic version. Thematic categorization was associated with faster task completion, lower error rates, and improved subjective user experience. However, the results indicate that simply having a clear and structured categorization method is ultimately more important than the specific type employed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 36
Keywords [en]
Music streaming, Playlist discovery, Curated playlists, Browse page, Cognitive load, Cognitive overload, User experience, Information architecture, Categorization, Taxonomic, Thematic, Music genres, Content discoverability
National Category
Communication Systems
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-76464OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-76464DiVA, id: diva2:1964840
Educational program
TS Informationsarkitekt
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Available from: 2025-06-09 Created: 2025-06-05 Last updated: 2025-06-09Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf