Spotify’s latest feature is an ‘out of office’ playlist for email

Spotify is now offering a unique service that lets you create custom playlists for contacts based on your out-of-office status.

The appropriately named ‘OOO’ (out of office) is a fairly unique way to get people engaged with — or possibly signed up for — Spotify. It asks you a few simple questions like where you’re going and what type of trip it is (business or pleasure), then spits out a custom playlist.

In testing, I told OOO I was going to Hong Kong on a leisurely trip. I was even able to select the tempo of music I wanted my playlist to have; if I were going to Hong Kong to party, I could have my playlists #turntup.

The songs selected for your playlist are from artists popular in the area at the time, so it feels a bit more authentic.

Like an OOO message, you can set an automatic response to emails, and choose how long it will run. Spotify has a default message, but you can alter it if you like.

People are asked to click a link to your playlist to ‘get a taste of your trip’; it won’t autoplay in a browser or email inbox.

It’s a neat feature, and an inventive way to engage people outside of the browser or mobile app. Since we can’t seem to kill email, Spotify’s OOO may be just the thing we need to make it (somewhat) tolerable.