Spotify's latest feature shows you where that brain worm sample you love came from

If you’ve ever wondered where on earth the idea for your favourite track came from when you're deep into listening to it on repeat, Spotify might just be able to help. The music streaming giant has announced a new feature in beta called SongDNA, which is here to answer exactly that question – and then send you tumbling down a rabbit hole of fact-finding.

The feature maps out the samples, interpolations, collaborators and covers connected to any given song, and lets you keep pulling on those threads as far as you fancy taking yourself.

It lives inside the Now Playing view on mobile. To use it, you’ll need to tap the SongDNA card on a supported track and you’ll be presented with the full cast of people who helped shape it, from the songwriters and producers to the engineers, alongside any samples it borrowed and covers it then inspired.

Tap on any of those contributors and you can follow their connections outward to other artists and other songs, hopping across genres and decades in the process. We did say rabbit hole.

The underlying data comes from a combination of artist and label submissions and community-sourced information. Artists and their teams can log into Spotify for Artists to review and manage how their work appears in SongDNA, too, giving rights holders a degree of control over how their musical story is told.

The feature sits alongside the separately launched About the Song, which focuses on the narrative behind individual tracks. Where that tool tells you the story of a song, SongDNA is designed to show you its history, and nudge you toward whatever you might want to listen to next.

How to find SongDNA on Spotify

SongDNA is rolling out now in beta to Premium subscribers on iOS and Android globally, with full availability across the Premium user base expected during April.

To try it, open Spotify on your phone, play a track and swipe up into the Now Playing view. Scroll down until you see the SongDNA card. If the feature has reached your account and the track is supported, it'll be there waiting for you to give a try.