Spotify Has Music Playlists For Your Plants

Spotify keeps a list of curated tracks for the enjoyment of plants. As absurd as this may sound, it’s true. Since the pandemic began in March last year, many of us have been forced indoors. We only venture outside for essential purchases. And because we have been confined within our homes for months on end, many have chosen horticulture or some form of it, as a hobby to pass the time.

But the story doesn’t end there. A survey conducted by Spotify found that 21% of people reported speaking to their houseplants more during this time. In addition to this, 12% of people used audio content like music or podcasts to help nurture their plants. Now, plants do respond to certain vibrations, so it would be logical to assume that soothing music could benefit them.

Apparently, this is one of the reasons Spotify believes that its users chose to listen to Music for Plants. It’s a playlist that features handpicked tracks, which are supposed to encourage plant growth with mellow vibrations. It consists of a range of sounds, including birdsongs and ambient sounds. Uriel Waizel, a Spotify employee, is responsible for said playlist.

“I’m convinced plants feel human music and human presence,” said Waizel. “Sound waves resonate with the green world. It was a no-brainer to make the playlist and fill the content gap.”

The music streaming giant claims that there are now 2.9 million user-generated playlists related to plants and gardening. The most popular plants to earn a playlist happen to be ivy, cacti and ferns. Spotify has also created its first-ever collection of curated plants playlists with help from horticulture pros Kelly Wearstler, Darryl Cheng, Summer Rayne Oakes, and Black Men With Gardens.

The following are the top 5 genres of vegetation-friendly music that were chosen on Spotify:

Top five genres of vegetation-friendly music:

Fourth world
Art pop
Background music
Ambient
Lo-fi beats

These are some of the most-added botanical beats:

“Ivy” – Frank Ocean
“Such Great Heights” – Iron & Wine
“BUTTERFLY EFFECT” – Travis Scott
“Mr. Brightside” – The Killers
“Garden (Say It Like Dat)” – SZA
“Here Comes the Sun – Remastered 2009” – The Beatles
“Secret Garden” – Bruce Springsteen
“Three Little Birds” – Bob Marley & The Wailers
“Shape of You” – Ed Sheeran
“Rose Garden” – Lynn Anderson
“Dreams” – Fleetwood Mac

As a fellow nature lover, I have grown and looked after my fair share of plants. I’ve also used various methods to help stimulate growth, but have never resorted to playing them some soothing music. However as someone with a penchant for latin music, this is what’s constantly blaring on my sound system at home. It could be the reason why my plants don’t live very long.