VK Music

Main article: Mobile applications

2024: App Redesign

VK Music has presented a major update to the service. The main change was the redesign of the VK Music application and the VKontakte music section, which are designed in the same style. Updated key sections and service recommendation system. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on October 7, 2024.

The main pages of the VK application Music and the music section of VKontakte are decorated in a single visual style. A single interface provides intuitive navigation, which allows the user to quickly find the necessary functions, tracks and playlists.

The main screen of the service presents two popular sections: this is the VK Mix section with recommendations and "My Tracks" - a collection of user tracks. You can switch between sections using one swipe. Settings appeared in the VK Mix section, and the player was updated.

The recommendation system has become faster and more accurate - the algorithms adapt to the user's tastes after listening to several tracks and reacting to them. As a result, users began to add tracks from VK Mix to their playlists 40% more often. Another feature of the update was the ability to customize the stream of track recommendations by mood: "active," "sad," "calm," "joyful" and "love," recognition and the language in which the song is performed.

An unusual element in the updated interface was the gyroscope effect on the main screen. This is a feature where animation interacts with the rotation of the phone screen. The interface repeats the user's movements and gives new feelings from contact with the service.

2023

Running snippets

VK Music has launched a different way of finding music - snippets. These are key fragments of tracks 35 seconds long, thanks to which the user can find even more music and quickly select and add the track he likes to the playlist. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on October 9, 2023. The launch of this section is devoted to the federal advertising campaign, which was attended by INSTASAMKA, Zivert and JONY, as well as fragments of MACAN, Ksyusha Minaeva and Miyagi & Endgame tracks.

A large-scale update has appeared on the VK Music application window and in the music section. In the social network Vkontakte Snippets section, you can listen to all the music presented in the service in a short format - from new releases and exclusives to many playlists and everyone's favorite albums and tracks. Algorithm recommendations selects snippets based on the musical preferences of each user.

The snippet section is located on the main page of the service. It presents a tape of playlists, which you can familiarize yourself with by swiping down. Each playlist consists of snippets that you can listen to by scrolling through them horizontally. The track, which the user liked the snippet, can be immediately added to My Music.

A selection of snippets will be updated on the showcase daily, offering the user new content taking into account previously listened to music.

Every day there is more and more music. Artists release new releases, and users want to be aware of new products and find their favorite music in a huge library of tracks. In order for them to get acquainted with music faster, we added the snippet function. From the key fragment of the song, you can immediately understand whether you like it or not. If so, add it to your playlist. This greatly simplifies the search for a wide variety of music and saves time. While someone is listening to one track, you will listen to five or more and collect your playlist much faster, said Nikolay Duksin, Director of Music Ecosystem and Video Content Department.

Also in the music section of the social network VKontakte you can use the function of pre-listening to tracks - longtap. With a long click on the track, the user will be able to turn on its preview and immediately hear the brightest fragment. The feature is available in the music section except "My Music."

In late September, VK Music launched an audiobook section. The catalog contains world bestsellers, works of classical and children's literature, science fiction, modern prose, audiobooks of non-fiction and new adult genres. The new section is already available in the VK Music application and will soon appear in the VKontakte application.

The appearance of the "Podcasts" section

On January 23, 2023, the press service VK announced that now entertaining scientific you can listen to your favorite shows and formats in a separate VK. application Music

Podcasts"" is an independent section service of VK Music, which brought together a diverse, audio content including exclusive shows. Podcasts are available in the VK Music app, as well as inside the updated "Music" section in. mobile application Vkontakte

You can get acquainted with the show on the showcase, where everyone will find the desired format for themselves - from humorous issues and podcasts about music to projects about relationships and psychology investigations. At the start, users will hear several exclusives at once. Among them are the first season of the project "Myths" ancient plots cultures about and great civilizations from the studio "Theremin," the season of the famous project "Wider Check" about how to start earning more, and the second season of the podcast "Hackney Brain" from "Bohemia" about how it works. the psyche of a person Music lovers are waiting for a project from VK Music - the Cosmic Jam podcast, in the studio of which famous producers and musicians will appear. The show is hosted by Sam Adegbiye of STUDIO 21. Guests will share personal stories and teasers of the prime minister with him.

Podcasts have become an entertainment and educational format. Therefore, the number of podcasts and their audience is growing. The appearance of a section with podcasts in VK Music is a step towards a variety of content and improving the service. The synergy of music and podcasts is what the listener chooses in different life situations. In the gym, the user listens to music, on a long trip you switch to a podcast - everything is within the same service, noted Nikolai Duksin, director of the music ecosystem and video content department of VK.

VK Music is interested in developing a partnership with authors of high-quality content and helps young podcasters find an audience faster, and expand their own.

2022

Disappearing from the App Store

On September 27, 2022, it became known that the VK Music application had disappeared from the App Store. Read more here.

Running a recommendation algorithm with playlists from people with similar tastes

On April 1, 2022, VKontakte announced that VK Music had launched an algorithm of recommendations with playlists from people with similar tastes.

The presented recommendation algorithm adjusts personally to the listener and takes into account thousands of different factors to offer the user tracks that he will like. For time experiments with this algorithm, the audience of playlists, according to the company, grew by almost 30%.

For each listener, the algorithm creates a personal selection of "Listen to each other" with publicly available playlists from people and communities with a similar musical taste. The VK Music catalog contains more than 100 million playlists that users, communities and music curators have created. Among them are rare genres, selections, concert recordings, mood playlists and much more. The selection is updated daily: the algorithm continuously analyzes the tracks listened to by the user, the appearance of new songs, playlists from communities, friends and other listeners of "VK Music," coincidences in genres, artists and thousands more different factors.

"A personal selection of" Listen to each other "is a recommendation block where public playlists from people and communities with a similar musical taste are collected. The machine learning algorithm we developed shows the percentage of match by interest, helping listeners to choose the relevant playlist, and the authors of playlists to expand their audience, "- says Andrey Law, Director of Music Services at VK.

VK Music is a streaming service that combines the VKontakte music platform and a separate VK Music music listening application. The service, according to the company, is used by tens of millions of people every month.

2021: Launch of the mobile application "VK Music" and "VK Studios"

On November 30, 2021, VK announced the launch of VK Music and VK Studio music services.

VK Music will combine all VK music products in a single musical direction: music sections social networks "" and VkontakteSchoolmates"," a common library, content products for musicians and labels, general recommendation technologies and a separate " mobile application VK Music."

"VK Music" is a separate mobile application for listening to music, which is launched based on the BOOM application.

In the application, users got quick access to their VKontakte media library and Odnoklassniki. Tracks can be listened to online and offline. It's easy to find new music - you can listen to radio based on mixes of genres, artists and albums or a selection from the music edition of "VK Music." And the endless smart playlist of VK mix will adjust to the preferences and behavior of the listener.

"VK Music" goes beyond algorithmic recommendations and offers users recommendations from people.

At the end of November 2021, there are more than 100 million playlists in the VK Music database, which are collected by people and communities. In the near future, the service will launch an algorithm that will show musical compatibility and select playlists based on matching tastes. Such a technology is already used in the algorithmic playlists "VK Music" - the number of their listening for the year increased, according to the company, by 54%.

Instruments for musicians

"VK Studio" is a product for musicians that helps analyze audiences, get tools to promote, and run ad campaigns based on current data.

"VK Studio" will become the basis for the direction of work with musicians. Within its framework, products will be created that will support musicians at all stages of creativity: from the first releases to concerts in stadiums. The tools will help with monetization, promotion of releases and events, sale of concert tickets directly from "VK Music."

"There are thousands of cool tracks coming out every day, but looking for new music is most often uncomfortable. People listen to the same thing in circles because you have to spend a lot of time searching. In my opinion, the best solution is to correctly combine user expertise and the power of algorithms. People who love and understand music create hundreds of thousands of playlists on our services. Our algorithms find optimal selections that fit the situation and specific musical taste, "- says Andrey Law, Director of Music Services at VK.

"VK Music" is available without a subscription with advertising, as well as without restrictions with a VK Combo subscription - at the end of November 2021, new users can purchase it for 75 rubles a month for the first 3 months. The subscription includes discounts on food and taxi delivery, online cinema, educational resources. At the same time, you can still listen to music in the music sections "VKontakte" and "Odnoklassniki" - with a subscription without restrictions or without a subscription with advertising.