Spotify has been working on this problem for awhile. For example, one person asked Spotify to allow users to configure which button appeared in the app to make it a user’s choice. Others posted similar requests for separate Play and Shuffle buttons or even different solutions to the same problem. It was not the only complaint of this nature on the forum site. The post received 647 upvotes and pages of comments from others who agreed. The user suggested Spotify simply offer two separate buttons so people could choose how they wanted to stream music, instead of having to tap into Now Playing screen to enable or disable Shuffle mode.

This was confusing for users who switched between platforms, the post pointed out. On mobile, playlists had the combined Shuffle/Play button, but on the desktop, the button was just a regular Play Button. As one review posted last year to Spotify’s Community forums had noted, the button offered was even different across Spotify’s apps. This seems a bizarre choice given that customer complaints had correctly identified an issue with the overall design of the Spotify app’s interface and its user experience. However, streamers may be disappointed to find out that what should be an app update in favor of better usability is oddly being sold to them as a reason to upgrade to Spotify’s paid tier - the company says the new button is only being offered to Spotify Premium subscribers. This will replace the combined button available before, which had been inconsistent across platforms and frustrating to use.

The company announced today it will introduce, at last, a separate Play Button and a Shuffle Button at the top of albums and playlists to make it easier to play the music the way you like. Spotify is updating its app to address a long-standing user complaint with music playback - but it’s asking customers to pay for the fix.

Pay for spotify charts of playlists