Spotify to Separate Play and Shuffle Buttons for Premium Subscribers

Spotify is separating its play and shuffle buttons for paying subscribers, the streaming service has announced.

Currently, the Spotify interface uses a combined play and shuffle button at the top of playlists and artist pages, so the change should make things simpler for Premium customers who prefer to listen to songs in the order they are listed.

Writing in a blog post, the company said the individual play and shuffle buttons would be rolling out on iOS and Android devices for Spotify subscribers worldwide over the coming weeks.

This new change will allow you to choose the mode you prefer at the top of playlists and albums and listen the way you want to. Whether you love the joy of the unexpected with Shuffle mode, or prefer listening to tunes in order by simply pressing Play, Spotify has you covered.

Spotify has received criticism in the past for its penchant for shuffling tracks, not just from users, but also artists frustrated that their albums are not being experienced in their proper running order.

Following the release of "30" by Adele last November, the singer thanked Spotify for removing the shuffle button as the default option when playing albums. Artists "don't create albums with so much care and thought into our track listing for no reason," she tweeted. "Thank you Spotify for listening."