Spotify's AI DJ
A major change in how we listen to music or just another AI fad?
Recently, I went for a long walk and was looking for some music to listen to along the route. I typically find myself reaching for podcasts and audiobooks when out for walks, but I thought why not check out some new music on Spotify? As I've written before, after much searching, it is my music service off choice these days.
But then I stumbled upon something new that I hadn't noticed before. Spotify had a new DJ function. It also said that it was in Beta. Call me crazy, but I can never resist a new feature in beta! I had to test it out for myself.
What is DJ?
Spotify describes DJ as:
"A mix of current go-to's, old favorites, and some new discoveries you haven't heard yet"
Hmm, ok, that sounds reasonable. I went ahead and clicked the icon. I was greeted by a voice that sounded mostly human if not a little predictable. I wouldn't automatically assume that it was some sort of artificial intelligence if I didn't already have an inkling. This DJ introduced himself as "X". That's a solidly neutral name for a music spewing AI right? Upon looking deeper into this, I learned that the name actually comes from Spotify's Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan. It was the first I'd heard his name, but apparently Jernigan served as a host of the Spotify morning show called "The Get Up". Since his vocal tone was already familiar with plenty of Spotify listeners, it made sense to use it as the first voice model for the AI DJ.
X the DJ acts very much like a traditional radio disc jockey (I love that the term "disc jockey" lives on for an AI who controls streaming data. Alas, no discs are being actually jockeyed here). He kicks off his set list with a little intro banter and introduces himself for first-time listeners. I found the initial interaction very informative, honest, and almost human. I instantly knew exactly what I was getting myself into. Ok X, entertain me!
How Does it Work?
Let's be clear, this DJ isn't really doing a whole lot of new things. Everything it says is based on your Spotify listening history and data that has been stored over the course of your time as a Spotify user. X isn't really guessing that you'll like something, he is armed with plenty of statistics that would normally just be served up to you by recommended playlists or artist suggestions.
Spotify have really just taken some of their existing methods of feeding you content and wrapped an AI bow around it. Now, this isn't exactly a bad thing. They have incredible data at their disposal if you've been a longtime devotee to the service and getting it served back to you by a (sorta) actual person is pretty cool.
So X serves up his first songs. In my case, it seemed to be looking at some of my most played artists and gave me a hit of something that they were pretty certain that I'd enjoy. Yeah, it was some indie rock that was pretty spot on for my tastes, but I wasn't really here to just fully enjoy the music, I wanted to play around with the DJ a bit more.
Whenever listening in DJ mode, you'll see a little circular icon in the lower right corner of your screen. This indicates that you want X to pick something else to listen to. In my use case, this caused X to really shift his town. He came back with a suggestion from the Jazz genre but it was an artist I wasn't familiar with. What's even more fascinating is that he (or it?) gave me a little more background on the artist. He said it was the title track from their latest album, and it even said to listen up for how the artist "trades solos" in the piece with another contributing artist. This is actually immensely helpful when listening to something for the first time!
It was also really cool when video was show on-screen for this performance. Most songs just showed the album art, but it was helpful to have video references, especially for artists that I didn't already know. I was on the move and trying not to stare at my screen, but it was a nice touch!
You can like songs by tapping the heart icon or skip ahead or back as you normally would, and these responses are obviously being logged by the DJ. It's always gathering data to get better at its job (a commendable trait in anyone!). The series of song suggestions continues. I hear some tunes that come from a certain period of time. I hear songs that are on high rotation for me in the last few weeks. Then there is another set of songs that I liked 3 months ago followed by some more retro tracks. X was mixing it up and keeping me on my toes.
Granted, I don't have the most curated Spotify listening habits these days. That's something that happens when you become a parent and have to instantly play nursery rhymes or Disney hits to calm a temper tantrum. So there was a string of songs of the Disney variety that I had to keep skipping. I can't blame X for not understanding the context around those. It's my fault for not giving my 3-year old daughter her own Spotify account, soon enough!
Conclusion
So my first experience with X the AI DJ (that's a lot of letters!) was actually pretty great. It wasn't perfect. I didn't feel like I was listening to an actual human DJ on the radio, but it did have me questioning how valuable a real human on the radio actually is. Whenever I listen to Sirius XM, I do appreciate the personalities and the interludes to intro and outro songs. It's awesome to have someone chime in about an upcoming tour date in my city for the artist I just heard. But sometimes I also wonder how real these people are.
Are they actually talking to me now in real time or was this segment pre-recorded? I guess in the age of streaming and listening to the radio on smart devices, it doesn't seem as real or personal as the days of tuning in an actual radio dial. Sometimes even local radio commercials can be a comforting sense of community and being rooted in the present moment. Yes, Mother's Day actually is coming up soon, maybe I should check out that local florist! You know what I mean.
I may be looking for some new career opportunities if I'm a dedicated disc jockey. As that name has already become outdated, it seems like only a matter of time until there are other versions of X all over the airwaves. For all we know, this could have already happened and we'd probably be none the wiser!
Will this feature make me use Spotify a bit more? I'm not sure yet, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I could see AI curation becoming a major selling point in the streaming music wars. For example, would you move from Spotify to Apple Music if they debuted a new killer AI DJ that could be tailored to your preferences in every way? I think many people would, especially if they're of the age where they remember connecting with local DJs on the radio. Younger listeners may prefer to just tap next or thumbs up or down, but there is something magical about a set list that fits your current mood while being delivered by a human or almost human personality.
Has anyone else played around with AI DJs yet?
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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