The way we listen to music has changed dramatically, but one thing has often been lost in the digital transition: the liner notes. That detailed list of every musician, engineer, and producer who brought a song to life often disappears when tracks are uploaded as simple metadata. Spotify is aiming to fix this with a suite of new features—Expanded Credits, SongDNA, and “About the Song”—designed to give listeners and the industry a much-needed jolt of transparency and recognition.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
The biggest update addressing the metadata gap is the rollout of Expanded Credits, which begins on mobile devices this week. Previously, credits often only listed top-line artists and a few writers. Now, the expanded credit panel will ensure everyone—from mixing engineers to session musicians and additional producers—is visible. This change has been welcomed by industry veterans like mixing engineer Manny Marroquin, who stated, “So many incredible creatives contribute to a track, and recognizing them publicly can be life-changing, spotlighting the full team behind each song makes our industry stronger and more inclusive.” This increased visibility is a crucial step toward modernizing music credits and fostering a more equitable industry.
Connecting the Dots and Telling the Story
Spotify is also embracing the complex history of music creation. For Premium subscribers, the new SongDNA feature acts as an interactive map, visualizing how tracks are connected through samples, covers, and collaborations. This feature is powered by data from WhoSampled, a company Spotify acquired earlier this year. Producer Mike Dean praised the move, drawing a comparison to the past: “Back in the record and CD era, people read liner notes and it was a big thing to do while you listened… I think expanding Song Credits and SongDNA are great steps forward in modernizing credits.”
Rounding out the new suite is “About the Song,” which will present swipeable cards in the Now Playing view that offer background stories and cultural context for individual tracks. Furthermore, artists and their teams will get early access to these tools through a Spotify for Artists Preview next year, allowing them to review and correct their credits before the broader rollout.
Why This Matters for All of Us
Ultimately, these updates promise to benefit everyone. For listeners, it’s a richer, more contextual experience. For the countless independent artists and behind-the-scenes collaborators, it’s a powerful new form of discovery. By ensuring that every person who contributed to a track is properly credited, Spotify is increasing transparency and creating new avenues for artists to be discovered through their professional networks. This marks a significant move to elevate the full creative team behind the music we love.
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