They say that music transcends may boundaries, especially cultural ones since everyone ‘speaks’ it. Since it’s been a few years for Spotify to expand to the Middle East and North Africa region, there are two worthy new additions with one being a major welcome.
Both the iOS and Android now support Arabic in three dialects, following the expansion to support more languages. This brings it to a total of 74 languages.
The other is that users can now pull in their listening song when posting a BeReal.
Arabic of different flavours
Since the MENA launch, the one missing part is that there was no support for the Arabic language in the native app. Given the different dialects in the region, Spotify have added Arabic support for the following ones (likely due to their popularity): Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco.
The feature is not restricted geographically, as there are native Arabic speakers worldwide who will definitely welcome this addition. This adds further personalization for listeners, letting them customize how they use Spotify regardless of their location.
Instructions on how to change the Spotify app’s language can be seen on their support section.
Spotify your BeReal
If you haven’t heard of BeReal, it’s a French-developed app that requires you to post a photo capturing both the front and selfie view. It has become its own social media platform, seeing the feature already copied by Instagram and TikTok.
The initial rollout of the integration was in late April for select markets. The new update now brings it to all the existing MENA markets where BeReal is available. Whether you’re listening to a music track or podcast, you’ll see the cover art with the BeReal post. This also indirectly helps to promote more music discovery between friends and other users.
How do you share your listening music track or podcast when capturing a BeReal? Follow the steps below.
- Connect your Spotify and BeReal accounts. Eligible users — or even soon-to-be users — can do this by tapping on the music icon that’s shown before posting their BeReal. Otherwise, within the BeReal app, navigate to “Settings,” then “Music,” and follow the prompts to connect to Spotify.
- Once you’ve connected your accounts, it’ll automatically pull in the song or podcast you’re listening to on Spotify at the time you capture a BeReal. You’ll see the cover art of the audio you’re listening to at the bottom of your camera lens.
- Check out what other friends are listening to on your BeReal feed! You’ll also be able to listen to a preview of what they’ve shared.
The new integration is already live in the following markets: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Tunisia, Iraq, and Libya.
Given these new additions, it shows that Spotify is further catering to its user base worldwide. Spotify has 500M+ active monthly users worldwide, with 205M being paid subscribers (including myself) and 10 million creators.
Image credit: Spotify Newsroom
