Overview
- Spotify in July 2026 began rolling out new session controls at the top of Release Radar that let listeners narrow recommendations by genre, focus on new‑to‑you artists, or choose editors’ picks.
- The controls let users pick up to five options drawn from labels such as “Discover new artists,” “Editors’ picks,” and genre-specific filters tailored to their listening habits.
- Release Radar reaches nearly 9 million weekly listeners, and Spotify says the update also brings a sharper recommendation model plus new cover and header art for the playlist.
- The Release Radar changes join other discovery upgrades this year, including editor‑led videos on New Music Friday, Fresh Finds’ decade‑long editorial curation by 30+ editors, and Discover Weekly’s genre customization and 100 billion cumulative streams.
- For listeners, the update gives clearer control over what appears in a weekly drop; for emerging artists, it creates another channel editors and algorithms can use to surface new tracks and widen exposure.