Spotify embraces the radio with the new ‘Your Daily Drive’ news and music playlist

Whether it’s personalized or general availability, one of the strongest elements of Spotify has always been its range of available playlists. And now the streaming service is adding one more, this one offering old school sensibilities for drivers.

Spotify has launched a brand new playlist called “Your Daily Drive” (via The Verge). As the name suggests, this is a playlist that’s designed for folks behind the wheel, and it’s designed to harken back to the good old days when the radio was the only source of music –and news– a driver had while on the road.

The new playlist will feature music the subscriber already enjoys, while also throwing in some new music recommendations based on your listening history. In addition to that, the playlist will also throw in news podcast content as well. And while this is meant for drivers, Spotify listeners can tune into it whenever they want, even if they aren’t driving.

The news podcasts coverage will be offered by NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and Public Radio. Spotify confirmed that the playlist will be updated on a rotating basis throughout the day, both with new music and news content. As noted in the original report, this makes the Your Daily Drive playlist one of the most frequently updated, with refreshes happening multiple times a day.

While this is just another playlist feather in Spotify’s cap, it’s also meant to be another way for the streaming platform to showcase its podcast prowess as well. Spotify has been expanding its reach for quite some time now, trying to move beyond just music, and podcasts are a huge play for the company. Offering a playlist that seamlessly offers both music and podcast content is a solid move, and could help strengthen its play in the podcast market.

Of course, Apple Podcasts still lead in that department, and it seems like a long shot that Apple’s seat at the head of the table could be changed anytime in the future.

Still, despite a big change in the “For You” section within Apple Music, which offers access to even more curated playlists of music, Spotify still leads the charge when it comes to playlists tuned specifically for the individual.

Do you think Apple should start launching more playlists curated like this?

Spotify’s new Your Daily Drive playlist is available starting today.