A collaborative playlist for friends who don't share one app

Why collaborative playlists fall apart

The collaborative playlists built into streaming apps work well inside one service. A Spotify collaborative playlist lets friends add, remove and reorder songs, but everyone who adds songs has to be on Spotify. The friend who lives on YouTube, or the one who pays for Deezer, is left out.

The second problem is fairness. In a shared playlist, whoever is keenest wins. The first person to open it adds twenty songs, the quiet friend adds one, and a week later the playlist sounds like one person's taste.

And a playlist is silent. You see a new song appear, but not why someone picked it, and there's nowhere to react.

How a Link Tapes tape works

A tape is a shared playlist with a few rules that keep a group happy:

• One link for everyone. Friends open it, type a name and they're in. No account, no app to install.
• Mix your services. Songs from YouTube, Spotify and Deezer sit in the same queue and play back to back.
• Take turns. Each person adds one song per round, in turn order, so every voice gets the same space.
• Say why. Every pick can carry a short note, and there's a chat beside the tape for the reactions.
• Keep it moving. The host sets how long a turn can wait before it can be skipped, from one minute to four weeks.

Link Tapes or a Spotify collaborative playlist?

They solve different problems, and in some cases Spotify's own collaborative playlist is the better choice.

If your whole group already uses Spotify and just wants one big shared list, use Spotify's. If your friends are spread over different apps, or you want everyone to get a turn, use a tape.

Good ways to use a collaborative tape

Anywhere a group shares the music, turns make it fairer. Some favorites:

• A road trip. Everyone adds a song or two before you leave, and the tape plays in the car.
• An old group chat. Call a theme each week (“a song from 2012”, “a cover better than the original”) and take turns.
• Friday at work. One song each for the last hour of the week.
• A club or a class. The turn order gives the quiet members the same say as the loud ones.

How to set one up

1. Create a tapeStart one from the Link Tapes homepage. No account needed.
2. Choose the rulesSet the skip timer. If you want it private, make it a Backstage tape with an access code and a seat limit.
3. Share the linkDrop it in the group chat. Friends join with just a name.
4. Take turnsAdd a song when it's your turn. The tape shows whose turn it is.
5. Keep the listWhen the tape is done, export the track list.