Background & Context

When I joined this effort, Spotify lacked a reliable, user-controlled space for podcast listeners to keep up with the latest episodes from shows they followed. Discovery surfaces were doing a lot of heavy lifting—but often in ways that didn’t align with user intent. 60% of users weren’t following any shows at all, and for those who were, their experience was fragmented across multiple features like What’s New and New Episodes. I saw a clear opportunity to unify this space and give users a more intentional, inbox-like way to stay up to date.

The Goal

My primary goal was to increase consumption of the latest releases from followed shows by creating a clear and scannable experience on Home. I also aimed to improve the quality of Spotify’s follow graph by encouraging users to actively manage the shows they follow. Success was defined by increased reach (Follow Feed impressions), retention, and ultimately playback from followed creators. I anchored this work in user intent and optimized for clarity, reliability, and control.

The Problem

What I heard from users—and saw in the data—was a gap in how we were delivering on the promise of “follow.” Listeners wanted something dependable. But our current experience either buried that content or pushed users back into recommendation loops they were trying to avoid. At the same time, creators (especially smaller ones) needed a predictable way to reach their audience. None of our existing surfaces fully closed this loop.

The Hypothesis

I believed that by introducing a Follow Feed on Home—right after users expressed intent to explore podcasts—we could meaningfully increase engagement with followed content. I hypothesized that this would not only improve playback and retention but also drive better follow graph hygiene over time. If users could clearly see what was in their feed, they’d feel more agency in curating it. That, in turn, would improve personalization and discovery across the rest of the app.

The Solution

I led the definition and rollout of the Follow Feed MVP, which introduced a reverse-chronological list of episodes from followed shows, playback behavior that honored user expectations (newest to oldest), and a dedicated “Shows You Follow” shelf. I also scoped MVP+ features like universal filters, a “You’re All Caught Up” animation, and a “Show All” button to support users with large follow graphs (20% of PWAUs followed 10+ shows). To make this experience more scannable and intuitive, we tested elements like blue dot indicators to highlight new content at the show level.

The Results

Early signals were promising. Users engaged with the “Shows You Follow” shelf and appreciated the inbox-like structure of the feed. In usability testing, the blue dot helped users evaluate new episodes more easily, confirming our hunch about evaluation patterns happening at the show—not episode—level. We launched multiple A/B tests (e.g., universal filters, WN & NE deprecation) to validate impact on consumption and retention, and are actively rolling out enhancements based on those learnings.

Conclusion

This initiative allowed me to reset how Spotify thinks about “following” and re-establish trust with both listeners and creators. By starting with a clear, intent-driven experience and layering in control and transparency, we’ve begun to unlock a more scalable and rewarding distribution model for podcast content. Leading this work taught me how to balance editorial curation with product-led mechanics and how to prioritize simplicity in a complex, multi-squad environment. I'm proud of how far we've taken the Follow Feed—and even more excited for what it enables next.