Tinder, Spotify team up to make musical matches

Chad Alan, a music teacher for the Halifax Regional School Board, thinks music and love go hand-in-hand.

“Love can inspire music as we know, and different kinds of music can illicit love along with all other kinds of emotions. Music is an art form that stems from our emotions, which certainly includes love,” he says.

The mobile apps Tinder and Spotify think music and love go hand-in-hand, too, and last month announced they have “hooked up.”

Users with accounts on both apps can now link their profiles, allowing them to showcase their most listened-to songs and artists on Spotify for other Tinder users.

Tinder, launched in 2011, is a mobile dating app which allows users to match with potential partners in their area based on short profiles. Mobile streaming app Spotify allows users to make, listen and share music playlists.

“Music is an important part of making new connections and getting to know existing ones,” Tinder CEO Sean Rad said in an online statement to TechCrunch.

“Just like you go to the bar that plays your favorite music, you’re likely attracted to the people at that bar who enjoy the same music,” said Rad. “We want to do the same thing with the Spotify integration.”

(Video uploaded by Tinder on Sept. 20)

But Tinder users may be hesitant to build a relationship on musical taste alone.

“I think that any interest a potential partner may have, musical or otherwise, is just one small sliver of what makes them who they are,” says 28-year-old graphic designer and Tinder user Josh Rooney of Dartmouth.

“It’s a great way to open a door and start having a conversation, but it can’t be the only thing you build on. It’s a bit of a weak premise for anything long term.”

Rooney also thinks joining the apps allows the two social media platforms to understand their customers more thoroughly.

“I think a major part of the reasoning behind the addition of Spotify is a less romantic approach than people would like to believe …. The addition of the favourite music gives them two advantages. One: they can now see if music affects partner choice, and two: try can sell Spotify accounts,” he says. “But that’s the cynic in me.”

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Top Spotify artists and songs will be visible on Tinder users’ profiles.
Along with displaying a favourite artist, Tinder users can choose “My Anthem”. This feature allows the user to pick one of their most listened songs on Spotify and associate it with their personality.

Spotify is available in 60 countries and has over 100 million active users with a catalogue of over two billion playlists.Tinder has over 24 million members and has created over nine billion ‘matches’.

Tinder is not the only dating app to team up with Spotify. Bumble, a dating app which allows women to make the first interaction, has also added Spotify playlists to its user profiles.