Right on.
I listen to albums, not tracks, and I don’t shuffle.
I don’t use Spotify and I don’t listen to Adele, but I applaud the sentiment.
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I absolutely get the sentiment, especially as an individual that has written music with a definite narrative flow, but I’m not sure I agree with Spotify removing it. I don’t use the shuffle button on albums in Spotify, but others might. Sure, they can still technically shuffle, but now that process has been lengthened for them, whilst my user experience has not changed.
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Dark side of the moon on shuffle. Yeah, sacrilege!
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I got the impression Spotify removed tre button only on the Adele album.
That would make sense…
Nope, it’s on all. I had a look at a few albums this morning. It just seems to me like a bit of a work for publicity, personally (although neither really need that).
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I don’t shuffle within an album.
But I do shuffle in a saved playlists.
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Exactly so!
A lot of artists especially in the prog rock genre “build” an album to be played in exactly the as released track form, some do not make sense at all when shuffled.
I play albums from start to finish, never ever shuffled.
Playlists? Yes fair game for shuffling which I do if I remember…lol.
I would not complain one jot if Roon did the same for albums.
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I think the issue was that on the album screen, the play button defaulted to shuffle. To play in order, you had to tap the first song. Not very intuitive.
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I’m actually capable of determining when to listen straight through and when to shuffle. I’m not sure how I attained the skill, probably from my Dad. That, together with breathing and p!$$ing standing up have held me in good stead for the last 59 years! 
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Bravo! No-one gets to come into my home and tell me what order I have to listen to my music in.
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Shuffle has been an option on many playback platforms since before Adele was born. I never use shuffle. Even albums that don’t “tell a story” I like to listen to in order. But I don’t like big tech, social media, pop stars, or politicians telling me what or how to think. It is basically un-American. And the fact that so many people don’t see the difference between agreeing with the concept of playing an album in order and being told it is not longer their choice to use the shuffle button is frankly disturbing.
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It’s just a marketing gimmick. Things will go back to normal soon enough No need to panic!
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This is really silly - and Spotify have removed a feature because it didn’t fit one particular use case.
The use case not suited to Shuffling: albums that tell a story, such as Adele’s, an opera, symphony, or prog-rock masterpiece.
The use cases very suited to shuffling (but can’t anymore): compilations, best-ofs, background music, etc., etc.
… And why should Adele be able to enforce her opinion on the entire world of Spotify paying customers, across the entire Spotify catalogue?
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Albums should tell a story. The default option should be listening to them the way the artist intended, in that sequence. But shuffled albums can also tell a story. Part of releasing albums in the 21st century is accounting for the customizability that comes with today’s music listening practices. Personally-made playlists should tell a story. One’s own music preferences should tell a story. The notion of ‘taking away’ a shuffling option is downright idiotic. Increase user customizability. If artists want albums to be heard ‘only’ from start to finish, they can choose to release them as single elongated tracks. I don’t recommend that, but it has always been an option.
As an analogy, I recall a college roommate who had a poster of Picasso’s ‘The Old Guitarist’ which was positioned horizontally. That’s not how Picasso “intended” it to be viewed, but it breathed different meaning into the painting.
Remember: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
And by the way, it’s not as if Adele is the first artist to express this. She’s just the highest profile artists to express this sentiment in the last, well, month or so.
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Has anybody actually looked at what Spotify have done? They haven’t removed the shuffle option. They’ve just changed the default setting. It now defaults to playing the album in the correct order. Shuffle is still an option. Talk about “fake news”!
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Everything defaults to playing the album in the correct order! Are you saying they used shuffle as a default setting?
Apparently.
https://www.archyde.com/at-adeles-request-spotify-brings-order-to-listening-to-albums/
Here in the UK the press seem to have mis-reported what’s happened. The headline “Spotify removes shuffle” seems rife. It appears not to be the case though.
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It did sound more than a little far fetched! But I guess any headline with Adele’s name on it will attract clicks.
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Wish they’d remove the ‘adele button’ so we dont have to listen to her endless caterwalling.
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