In a move that will likely surprise music lovers and fans of popular games, Spotify has announced the acquisition of Heardle, a word game-inspired music guessing game. This strategic get for Spotify aims to improve music discovery and keep listeners engaged on their platform.
What is Heardle?
Heardle is a daily music guessing game that serves players with a 1-second clip of a popular song. The goal is to guess the song within one second, or use up to six attempts with increasing clip lengths. By your final guess, you have a full 16 seconds to identify the song.
The Acquisition
Spotify announced today that it has acquired Heardle, and the game will remain free to play for everyone. Existing players can expect no changes in the look and feel of the game. However, with this acquisition, Spotify users can now listen to the full song on Spotify at the end of the game.
A Strategic Move for Spotify
The acquisition makes sense for Spotify as it attempts to improve music discovery and keep listeners engaged on its platform. According to web analytics firm Similarweb, Heardle peaked at 69 million monthly desktop and mobile web visits in March. Last month, the website was visited 41 million times.
Spotify has been focusing on acquisitions in the podcasting space over the last few years, but this marks its first acquisition of a game. With Heardle, Spotify can leverage music discovery to support its original content and create organic social media shares for the app.
A Wordle Success Story
Heardle is not the only spin-off that has cropped up in the vein of Wordle, the daily word game acquired by The New York Times. Wordle became so popular that it was sold for an undisclosed amount in the ‘low seven figures.’ The acquisition seems to have paid off for the newspaper, which noted in its quarterly earnings that the game brought "tens of millions" of new users to the site.
The New York Times’ Success with Wordle
The Wordle acquisition is a testament to the success of the game and its ability to bring in new users. After playing the day’s Wordle puzzle, users are served a small ad for another New York Times word game called Spelling Bee. This clever marketing strategy likely contributed to The New York Times’ best-ever quarter for net subscriber additions to Games after its January acquisition.
Heardle Fans Can Rest Assured
For existing Heardle players, the look and feel of the game will stay the same. However, with this acquisition, users can now listen to the full song on Spotify at the end of the game. The ko-fi page for Heardle is no longer active, but some fan-made spin-offs like Lorde Heardle remain online.
A Strategic Get for Spotify
Spotify’s acquisition of Heardle marks a strategic move to improve music discovery and keep listeners engaged on its platform. With this game, Spotify can leverage music discovery to support its original content and create organic social media shares for the app.
What’s Next?
As we wait to see how Spotify will integrate Heardle into its platform, one thing is clear: music lovers and fans of popular games are in for a treat. With this acquisition, Spotify takes another step forward in providing users with engaging experiences that bring them closer to their favorite artists and songs.
Related Stories
- Spotify Expands Its Presence in the Music Industry
- The Future of Music Streaming: What’s Next for Spotify?
- Wordle Mania Takes the Internet by Storm
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