After learning that 71% of pet owners play music for their pets, of which 57% even dance with them, we wondered if Spotify’s personalized music experience could extend to one’s furry loved ones. If so, what would the music sound like? Which pets do we cater to? How do we account for personalities within each pet type? Could it be music the owner might also enjoy?

Introducing Pet Playlists, personalized playlists based on your pet’s personality and your own music taste, so it’s music you both can enjoy. This means no new age tracks typical of “pet music” (unless, of course, you happen to listen to a lot of new age). Just pick your dog, cat, hamster, bird or iguana, let us know how energetic, friendly, or curious it is, and we’ll do the rest.

When one thinks of “pet music,” it often evokes sounds of new age or classical piano. A common drawback to such music is that it’s often not palatable to the owner. If the owner doesn’t like it, they won’t play it as often as they should, which means the pet won’t get to hear it as often as they could. Pet Playlists are built on the owner’s music taste, so it’s truly music for best friends.

Spotify for Pets starts with a survey that creates a simple profile of your companion. A custom algorithm then maps those answers to a larger set of music properties and optimizes for matches within data on your listening habits. This outputs the tracks that become your pet's playlist.

Custom illustrations of each type of animal were commissioned, and they were animated to interact with the user’s engagements. A fun, friendly, and warm color palette conveyed the sense of fun at the heart of the project.

At the end of the experience, users were invited to upload a picture of their pet, themselves, or both, in order to create a shareable card for social media.

2 million unique visitors

2.1 million Pet Playlists created

4,000 global news outlets

4 billion press impressions

$61 million in earned media

2 million unique visitors

2.1 million Pet Playlists created

4 billion press impressions

4,000 global news outlets

$61 million in earned media