Social distancing: What are you listening to on Spotify?

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that more workers around the world than ever before are now working remotely from home—and if you’re anything like me, that means that Spotify (or Apple Music, or YouTube Music) is now blasting away throughout the day, 7 days a week. But with the world now navigating uncharted waters, you might think that our choice of music would change… right?

Spotify has shared that social distancing measures have shifted certain trends on the streaming service: fewer people listening during daily commutes, more desktop devices being used, and so on. Rather interestingly, spikes have also been observed in cooking/home maintenance-themed playlists, with self-improvement podcasts rising in popularity during this period of home isolation.

Don’t Stand So Close to Me(!)

This might as well be the de facto anthem for COVID-19 preventative measures—or at least, for stay-at-home measures that have been implemented in severely impacted regions around the world. Spotify says that Don’t Stand So Close to Me, by The Police, has seen a 135% increase in popularity in recent weeks—obviously.

News podcasts have also been more popular, with Spotify even setting up a COVID-19 hub where listeners can access podcasts that cover the ongoing pandemic. Meanwhile, Spotify has also noted an uptick in streaming in the Kids & Family section, with children’s music an classical music possibly helping kids to sleep.

What better time to chill than now?

While the pandemic and various move restriction measures have undoubtedly impacted the economy, many listeners have apparently been relaxing by adding “chill” music to their playlists. This categorisation basically covers songs that are more acoustic and have lower energy, with many tracks featuring instrumentals over vocals. These tracks are also “less danceable”—which is rather sad, if you ask me.

But it appears that society is pulling together in times like these, and despite the social distance, many have collaborated on creating playlists over the platform. Artists have live streamed “concerts” as well, while those in Italy and Spain have even began singing songs together from balconies and windows.

For those of you that are feeling the fitness itch and can’t go to the gym/park/wherever it is that you exercise, there are also Health & Fitness and Lifestyle & Health categories that have grown in popularity recently, along with workout playlists.

If you’re feeling the cabin fever at home, you can check out Spotify’s Wellness hub; if not, Spotify has also compiled a Chill shelf. What sort of content are you listening to on Spotify/any other platform during the MCO? Let us know in the comments section below.