Shinedown Love That Adele Got Spotify to Remove Shuffle as Default Album Listening Option

You may have noticed a slight change on Spotify if you have gone to listen to an album recently. The streaming platform, at the behest of singer-songwriter megastar Adele, removed the shuffle option as the default playback setting on individual albums and Shinedown loved it.

That one person alone swayed a leading on-demand audio streaming service to make a permanent change to its listening experience speaks to the power and influence the singer, who has sold over 120 million albums worldwide, has.

Make no mistake, if you feel the urge to listen to an album from start to finish on shuffle, fully aware the artist laid out the songs in an order for a reason, you still have that same control over your experience. The random toggle option is available, it simply is no longer the default option.

"This was the only request I had in our ever changing industry! We don't create albums with so much care and thought into our track listing for no reason. Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened to as we intended. Thank you Spotify for listening," wrote Adele on Twitter in response to Spotify's newest feature change.

Shinedown frontman Brent Smith was particularly enthused over what Adele had accomplished and shared a message on Instagram to relay his thoughts on it all.

"If anyone understands the importance of what an 'album' truly is, it is myself, [Eric Bass, Barry Kerch, Zach Myers] and ALL of the #ShinedownFamily," Smith, who has sang on all six of Shinedown's albums, began.

"The fact that Adele was able to get Spotify to remove the shuffle button on album pages is massive," he continued. "Simply put, albums do tell a story whether they are conceptual, or not. They are a snapshot, 'a window in time' into the hearts, and minds of the artist. Now some opinions of this may be, what’s the big deal? and why does it matter? It matters because it gives value back to the music, and the artist. Ultimately it comes down to respect. So with that being said, we applaud you Adele and Spotify… MUCH RESPECT."

The move seems like a win for everyone. Listeners will, theoretically, receive a better listening experience by hearing the songs presented in the order the artist intended and artists won't have their work reduced to a randomized playback. Considering Spotify had already wanted to have access to everything you say in order to better recommend you music, this latest tweak aligns with their objective of maximizing user experience.

For all you playlist listeners, don't worry — Spotify didn't wipe out your default shuffle option on those. And don't forget that Loudwire has our own Spotify playlists — check those out here.

Shinedown hit the road on a headlining North American tour early next year with special guests Pop Evil and Ayron Jones on select dates. It's also been confirmed that the veteran group's seventh album should be out in early 2022 as well.