ShareMyPlaylists’ new iOS app is a whole new way to experience Spotify on the go

While Spotify now has a rich seam of third-party apps built for its platform, ShareMyPlaylists has been around almost as long as the music streaming service itself, helping users curate collections of music for each other. Now with its completely rewritten iOS app, it’s taking the experience mobile, letting you discover and listen to Spotify music in a fresh way.

As good as Spotify’s own iPhone app is, it’s not that useful when you’re not sure what you want to listen to. The recently-launched iPad version is a little better, offering trending playlists, but the choice isn’t that great. That’s where ShareMyPlaylists comes in.

The app opens up to a choice of featured playlists, currently covering everything from the Beastie Boys (in tribute to member Adam Yauch, who passed away yesterday) to alt-country, techie house and the history of Jamaican music. Digging deeper, you can find the most played playlists, the current top 50 playlists, and the latest lists added on the ShareMyPlaylists website. If you have an idea of the type of music you’re looking for, you can browse playlists by genre or do a free text search. In short, you’re spoiled for choice and inspiration.

Once you find a playlist that appeals to you, it will be played in-app from Spotify’s library using the LibSpotify API. Playlists can be shared from the app via Twitter, Facebook, email and even SMS.

This is essentially an alternative interface for Spotify that emphasises social curation. In fact the only thing you can’t do is compile and share playlists yourself from the app – that’s a job for the ShareMyPlaylists website or its app available as part of Spotify’s desktop app platform. Indeed, this iOS app is a great example of what could be possible if Spotify opened its app platform within its mobile apps, something it’s missing a trick by not having done yet.

ShareMyPlaylists is a free, universal app, optimized for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. As with all apps that let you access Spotify’s music on the go, you’ll need a premium subscription to the service.

➤ ShareMyPlaylists for iOS