Spotify has announced its acquisition of music-based trivia game Heardle, for an undisclosed fee.
In much the same way The New York Times bought the breakout hit game Wordle earlier this year, the music streaming giant has taken onboard the music guessing game with a similar-sounding name.
The deal makes a fair deal of sense, as outlined by the statement from Jeremy Erlich, Global Head of Music at Spotify, who described the game as both a music discovery tool and a popular game played by millions.
“We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans,” he said.
“Heardle has proven to be a really fun way to connect millions of fans with songs they know and love and with new songs… and a way to compete with their friends as to who has the best musical knowledge. Since its debut, the game has quickly built a loyal following, and it aligns with our plans to deepen interactivity across the Spotify ecosystem.”
For those who haven’t played it – first of all, give it a go, it doesn’t take long (that’s kind of the point). It involves you being given an opening to a track, and given six guess, with a few more seconds of music added with each guess.
Similar to The New York Times’ acquisition, many players were quick to air their concerns over whether any aspects of the game will be changed. Spotify have allayed those fears by saying nothing will be different, save for a bit of Spotify branding, and that it will continue to be free to play.
There’s a little note at the end of Spotify’s blog post shared today announcing the acquisition, hinting at how the streaming giant plans to “integrate Heardle and other interactive experiences more fully”.
As the debate around how much Spotify actually pays artists continues, this might be something of a new approach for the platform in providing more of a service to its users. Like a 16-second intro to a track, this might be just the beginning.
