This is the first issue I've had in this beta, but with the last update, the media player, I use Spotify almost exclusively, will not clear from my top task bar & I am constantly accidentally cutting it on.
if I kill the app, it pops up in seconds. I've exhausted many solutions.
anyone have an opinion on what all else I should try to resolve this mess?
I found the solution to this issue. We can't just swipe anymore. If you long press on the media player it gives you the option to remove it. Then the next time you open whatever media it will appear again. 
