Spotify is rolling out ‘SongDNA’ — a tool that lets subscribers trace how one song connects to another through shared producers, samples and covers — to its Premium subscriber base after first previewing the feature in November.
SongDNA will arrive in beta to Premium users globally on iOS and Android starting Tuesday (March 24). Spotify says it will be available to all Premium users throughout April.
The feature first surfaced alongside a companion feature, ‘About the Song’, in November. At the time, the company said it will enable fans to “dive into the influences behind the music they love, while giving sampled and covered artists fresh ways to get discovered and celebrated.”
Spotify acquired London-based song sample and remix database WhoSampled in November 2025. The company said at the time that SongDNA would be “powered by WhoSampled,” though its official announcement of the beta rollout does not reference the acquisition.
SongDNA is accessible via Spotify’s Now Playing view. When a supported track is playing, users can scroll down to a SongDNA card and explore the song’s collaborators including its writers, producers, and collaborators. They’ll be able to see samples and interpolations that fed into the sound and look up covers that it inspired.
From there, listeners can keep clicking through to other artists who worked with those same collaborators to see how artists, eras, and genres intersect, said Spotify.
Spotify explained how the feature works by connecting Harry Styles to Wu-Tang Clan through a chain of shared collaborators from Styles to John Mayer, Mayer to songwriter and producer Pino Palladino, Palladino to singer-songwriter and producer D’Angelo, D’Angelo to hip-hop band The Roots, and The Roots to Wu-Tang Clan.
The data comes from information Spotify receives from artists and their teams, as well as community-sourced contributions.
Spotify says eligible artist and label teams can log into Spotify for Artists to review and manage what appears in their SongDNA profiles, giving them some control over how the creative story of a track is showed.
“SongDNA is designed to make a song’s creative lineage more transparent so fans can easily explore the people and influences behind the music they love.”
Jacqueline Ankner, Spotify
Jacqueline Ankner, Spotify’s Head of Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships, said: “SongDNA is designed to make a song’s creative lineage more transparent so fans can easily explore the people and influences behind the music they love.”
“By bringing collaborators, samples, and covers together in one place, we’re making it easier for fans to discover new music and see how songs connect and come to life—while giving songwriters, producers, and rightsholders meaningful recognition for the role they play in creating it.”
SongDNA complements Spotify’s About the Song feature to provide context on individual tracks, the company said. As MBW reported in November, About the Song will be swipeable cards offering in-depth info about the origins of a track, such as the inspiration behind it or interesting stories about its creation. Spotify says the info will come from “third parties,” but didn’t elaborate.
The beta rollout comes as Spotify also announced that it is testing a new feature that lets artists approve releases before they appear on their profile. The ‘Artist Profile Protection’ feature addresses the issue of songs that appear on artist profile due to a metadata mix-up, another artist with the same name, or someone maliciously attaching their music to an artist’s profile.
Earlier in March, Spotify rolled out an AI feature called ‘Taste Profile’ to let users see and shape the listening data that drives their personalized recommendations.
Music Business Worldwide
Spotify is launching a new feature called ‘SongDNA’ for its Premium subscribers, allowing listeners to explore the connections between songs through shared producers, samples, and covers. First previewed in November, SongDNA will be available globally in beta to Premium users on iOS and Android starting March 24, with full availability throughout April. This feature is part of Spotify’s initiative to deepen listener engagement by providing insights into the influences behind their favorite music.
SongDNA allows users to access information about a song’s collaborators, including writers, producers, and other artists involved in its creation. While listening to a supported track, users can scroll down to find a SongDNA card that showcases these connections. They can explore how various artists are linked through a chain of collaborations and discover samples and interpolations that influenced the song, as well as covers that it inspired. For example, SongDNA can connect Harry Styles to Wu-Tang Clan through a series of collaborators, illustrating the intricate web of relationships in the music industry.
This feature is powered by data from Spotify’s partnerships with artists and their teams, as well as contributions from the community. Eligible artists and labels can manage their profiles through Spotify for Artists, allowing them to control the narrative of their creative story. Jacqueline Ankner, Spotify’s Head of Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships, emphasizes that SongDNA aims to make the creative lineage of songs more transparent, thereby enhancing the listener’s ability to explore the influences that shape the music they enjoy.
In addition to SongDNA, Spotify is also rolling out a companion feature called ‘About the Song,’ which will provide context about individual tracks, including their origins and the stories behind their creation. This feature will be displayed as swipeable cards and will offer insights sourced from third parties, although specific details on the sources have not been disclosed.
The launch of SongDNA comes at a time when Spotify is testing various features to enhance user experience and artist engagement. One such feature is ‘Artist Profile Protection,’ which allows artists to approve releases before they appear on their profiles. This addresses issues like metadata errors or misattributed songs due to artists with similar names. Furthermore, Spotify recently introduced an AI-driven feature called ‘Taste Profile,’ enabling users to see and influence the data that informs their personalized music recommendations.
Overall, SongDNA represents Spotify’s efforts to create a more interactive and informative listening experience. By revealing the creative connections between songs, the platform not only enriches the user experience but also provides recognition to songwriters, producers, and rightsholders. The feature is poised to foster a greater appreciation for the collaborative nature of music creation, allowing fans to discover new artists and genres through their favorite tracks.
