At last count, Spotify boasts a staggering 100 million songs, over six million podcast titles and more recently, the addition of 350,000 audiobooks. So why do I keep listening to the same handful of artists and my six “curated” playlists when there is a world of discovery waiting for me, if I would just hit shuffle?
Spotify must have been wondering the same thing for it prompted me to give the AI DJ feature for a spin and after a weekend of AI DJ in heavy rotation, I may never go back to my own playlists again.
Spotify prides itself on personalization and has been providing features such as “Discover Weekly” and the annual “Wrapped” that summarizes the hours, minutes and songs that you played over the course of the year. Like it or hate it, these apps know everything that we have played and how many times we have played them, so here’s how they take that content to create a personalized AI DJ.
Harnessing the power of AI, The DJ knows you and your music taste so well that it will scan the latest new releases that it knows you’ll like, or maybe take you back to a nostalgic playlist you had on repeat from years past. The DJ is a personalized AI guide that knows you and your music taste so well, that it can choose what to play for you and it does an absolutely amazing job doing so!
Over the weekend, the AI DJ sorted through the latest heavy-rotation music but also looked back at some of my old favourites, resurfacing songs I had not listened to for years. AI DJ then reviews what you might enjoy and delivers a stream of songs picked just for you. The AI DJ constantly refreshes the lineup based on your feedback such as when I skipped some tracks based on a genre that I really have no interest in (except for that one booze-fuelled party where the tunes AI DJ were feeding me had been on heavy rotation!)
If you’re not feeling the vibe, users just tap the DJ button and it will switch it up. The more you listen and tell the DJ what you like (and don’t like!), the better its recommendations get.
Using Generative AI through the use of OpenAI technology. Spotify music editors provide insightful facts about the music, artists, or genres you’re listening to. And there really is a DJ who will say things like “hey John, lets go back to the early 2000s to one of your tracks that used to be in heavy rotation.”
Spotify uses a dynamic AI voice platform from a platform called Sonantic that was a Spotify acquisition in 2022, that brings to life stunningly realistic voices from text.
To create the voice model for the DJ, Spotify partnered with the company’s Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan. Previously, X served as one of the hosts on Spotify’s first (and personalized) morning show, The Get Up. His personality and voice resonated with Spotify listeners and resulted in a loyal following for the podcast. His voice is the first model for the DJ.
AI DJ is not perfect, and my DJ tends to repeat sentences such as “that last one was from Thievery Corporation” twice but all in all, the algorithm fed me new music that it has a high probability that I will enjoy all based on my past listening history. AI DJ also clusters tracks in sets so six jazz tracks in a row followed by six classic rock tracks and each set seemed to include a track that I am well familiar with paired with new tracks for discovery.
The personalized “hey John…” was a bit creepy at first but after a day, I looked forward to the interlude and the information the AI DJ provided on tracks that were new to me. So, if you have been finding your Spotify listening has become a tad repetitive and restricted to a handful of artists, tap on the DJ button inside the Spotify app for a world of discovery and a great example of how artificial intelligence can work for you.
Head to your Music Feed on “Home” in the Spotify mobile app on your iOS or Android device. Tap Play on the DJ card. Let Spotify do the rest!