New Delhi: Spotify’s new app icon has been met with complaints from Spotify users over social media. The company’s recent rebranding for its 20th anniversary celebrations is a black radio-wave line design with a glittery green disco-ball finish. There were many subscribers who thought that the redesign was not necessary, and some respondents felt that the redesign look was distracting and outdated.
The response from the community was swift, with many users on platforms such as Reddit and X expressing their dismay about the “temporary” logo. One Reddit user even said that the new icon is “absolute horse sh*t”. Although there has been a lot of negative reaction across the internet, the change is only temporary, and Spotify has already announced that the original design will be back in the next week.
Spotify’s iconic logo gets a birthday makeover
Alright, we know glitter is not for everyone. Our temp glow up ends soon. Your regularly scheduled Spotify icon returns next week.
— Spotify (@Spotify) May 17, 2026
In 2013, the initial Spotify icon was launched, establishing it as one of the most iconic app logos in the music streaming scene. The three waves in the green circle were drawn as three arcs of black line to symbolise audio waves, streaming and digital connection.
Spotify has decided to change that design for its 20th birthday this year with a disco ball icon instead. It seems like the redesign is just a part of a celebration campaign instead of a permanent rebranding attempt.
The new icon is just meant to give the anniversary celebrations a “happy” feel, according to Spotify. The first reports and reactions from users were made in the online community on Reddit and social media platforms as soon as the screenshots of the redesigned icon began to circulate rapidly.
Why Spotify is celebrating 20 years in 2026
Several users were unsure what Spotify’s timeline was. On October 7, 2008, the streaming website officially became a desktop application for Windows and macOS. The mobile version (for iOS and Android) was released on 7 September 2009.
That posed one question: why not 2028 instead of 2026 since Spotify was already celebrating 20 years ago? The answer is simple: The company is celebrating 20 years since Spotify’s inception, rather than since the public app launch.
The company was founded in 2006, well before the service started to be available to users.
Spotify still dominates the streaming market
Spotify is still the leader of the global music streaming industry despite criticism of the temporary icon. The company recently announced that it had 293 million paid subscribers globally for the last quarter.
In contrast, Apple Music is projected to have 100 million to 108 million paying customers worldwide. Spotify is said to have approximately 42 million to 44 million paid subscribers in the US, while Apple Music is said to have approximately 40 million subscribers.
Spotify has also gone public and trades its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SPOT. The disco ball icon probably won’t affect the platform’s massive lead in the streaming industry, though it did create some consternation among long-time users for a few days.