Spotify users who want a detailed look at their music habits might want to check out BeatSpend, an app that generates receipts for how much users “spent” on their favorite artists. One of the great things about Spotify is that it offers third-party integrations. While the platform offers its own insights, such as an Annual Plan deep dive, users can view other sites and apps throughout the year. For example, platforms like Instafest and Festify do a great job displaying their users’ top artists as festival lineups, while others like Icebergify use that data to showcase icons iceberg pattern.
BeatSpend or Beat/Spend do pretty much the same thing, but present the results in a receipt format, much like what the popular platform Receiptify does. Unlike most other third-party platforms, BeatSpend doesn’t have a web interface, instead requiring users to download an app. Unfortunately, the app is currently only available for iPhone, which means Android users won’t be able to use it right now. To get started, first download the BeatSpend app from the App Store, then tap the “Sign in with Spotify‘ button. Allow the app to access your Spotify account and a receipt will be generated on the screen.
Decrypt your BeatSpend receipts
Receipts showing Spotify users’ “all time spent”, essentially a list of their favorite artists, with the amount listed next to each name and the total amount spent at last. According to the App Store listing, the amount on the receipt represents the royalties the user paid for each artist on Spotify. The receipt looks very real, including fake card number, cardholder name (taken from Spotify account) and crumpled paper background to ensure authenticity. But BeatSpend is more than just Receiptify-style receipts.
In addition to the “Charged” amount per artist, there are also “send $?‘ button. Tapping this button allows users to send cash to their favorite artist. According to BeatSpend, “After you deposit the cash, BEAT/spend will contact the music artist and give them money. Your spending will be reflected instantly on your receipt. “Users can now enter an amount to send to the artist and even add a personalized note. Now click”send cash‘ and a pop-up will appear, prompting the user to enter their credit card information.
There’s no way to guarantee that Beatspend will actually pay the artist — even if they say it on the receipt — so users should use this feature with caution. Additionally, the payment screen will ask users if they want to save their card details on BeatSpend, which users should not do as a security measure. If the user still wants to continue tipping their favorite artists, the tip amount will be added to their receipt. So if the user’s receipt shows they spent $5 on The Weeknd and they decided to deposit $6 cash, the amount on the receipt would now be $11.
The good news is that cash deposit is completely optional, users can skip this option and click “final creation‘ at the end of the receipt. This will show the barcode and remove the ‘send $?‘ button to complete the receipt. Users can now take screenshots of their BeatSpend receipts and share them in messaging apps or social networks. BeatSpend is a fun way to view your favorite Spotify artists in receipt format, but users may want to avoid sending money through the app until more information is available on how to share with artists.
Source: BeatSpend, App Store