SPOTIFY GETS ANIMATED

Spotify has come up with a new wrinkle of late—a personality. The latest evidence is an animated series, Deconstructing, created by ATTN:, which covers an aspect of music history. The first episode, which looks at the evolution of EDM, clocks in at under two minutes and employs one of our favorite terms—ethos—in the voiceover. It made its premiere Thursday.

The launch occasioned a quote from Tom Calderone, who boasts the unwieldy title Global Head of Spotify Studios, Video & Content Development. “Creating content for fans by fans allows us to produce authentic narratives that resonate with our audience,” he said, “With this series, we wanted to give fans a perspective on how politics and society shape the music they love.”

Deconstructing is one of a dozen original shows in the works. These include Rush Hour, a light-hearted competition that challenges two hip-hop artists—a veteran and a rising star—to remix a well-known track in the back of a van; Landmark, a documentary series with a complementary longform podcast; and Trading Playlists, which encourages celebrities to exchange their personal mixtapes for a day.