Spotify keeps kids and parents ‘appy’
PARENTS can finally punt Baby Shark from their playlists thanks to the launch of a tightly curated Spotify Kids app.
The stand-alone app will give kids age-appropriate songs devoid of bad language or adult themes from a variety of popular children’s brands and artists including The Wiggles, Disney, Sia, Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy and 5 Seconds of Summer.
Curated for “older children” and “younger children” aged above three, 30 playlists will feature on the beta launch version.
There are even a few that parents will be happy to share during car rides, such as Australian Rock Hits with songs from national treasure Paul Kelly, the evergreen INXS and singalong favourite Crowded House.
After carefully combing through every lyric, Spotify even managed to unearth a couple of AC/DC songs suitable for kids, including Who Made Who and Let There Be Rock.
Pop Hits AU hosts songs by some of Australia’s most popular hip hop artists including Hilltop Hoods, Illy and emerging indigenous star Baker Boy, whose songs feature his Yolngu Matha language.
Kids can listen to bedtime stories for the little ones or educational audiobooks for older kids via the app.
They can regenerate Australian traditions via the Classic Australian Songs playlist which features Waltzing Matilda and Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.
The content is ad-free with simple navigation.
The app is a free extension downloaded via the parents’ Spotify Family subscription package, which adds a layer of data privacy protection — no information about the child is required.
“Following strict guidelines in the content selection, every single song and story ... is personally vetted and hand-picked by our editorial team,” said Spotify head of culture and editorial Alicia Sbrugnera.
“Put simply, problematic songs and stories are identified during the vetting process and those deemed inappropriate or non-relevant to kids are not added to the app.”
To further reduce the possibility of inappropriate songs making it onto the app, kids cannot make their own playlists but can “favourite” songs.
Young users can also select a custom avatar and colour theme to personalise their experience.
The bonus for parents who can now kick their kids off their Spotify account is their listening habits will look a whole lot cooler and a lot less Hot Potato.