Spotify adds family-friendly features to help kids develop language skills
The streaming music service adds curated playlists with voice prompts from celebrities that encourage parents to interact with their kids.
Get ready to rock out to some kid-friendly tunes.
Spotify on Monday added a slew of new curated playlists for children in the 0-to-3 and 3-to-5 age range to its revamped "Kids and Family" category. Some playlists are packed with pure, parent-approved tunes, like "Kindie" (yes, indie music for kids) and "Milk and Cookies," while others are thematic, like "Dance Party," "Playtime" and "Bathtime."
The thematic playlists also work in vocabulary and language-development activities. Available in English and Spanish, the playlists feature voice prompts from celebrities like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tyler Perry, Juanes, Wiz Khalifa and Fantasia. The short audio bites, sprinkled throughout the playlists, encourage parents to interact with their kids, like making up a dance or the lyrics to a song.
"We geared the playlists toward parents with younger children because the research shows that music and music experiences including singing with children from birth can promote early brain and language development, especially among children ages 0-3," said Kerry Steib, Spotify's director of social impact.
The new playlists, which will be updated regularly with new talent and partners, could make Spotify an attractive choice for families considering rivals like Apple Music, which also feature family plans.
Updated at 1:55 p.m. PT: with comments from Spotify.