Spotify is debuting AI Playlists in specific parts of the world within a beta period, providing access to a new feature that will allow users to “fuel discovery and music curation.” This is through a feature that allows the user to type a prompt in its chat, with an AI calculating songs suitable to what was written. A few examples of this, provided from Spotify, including “an indie folk playlist to give my brain a big warm hug” or “relaxing music to tide me over during allergy season.”
The feature is first available in the United Kingdom and Australia, exclusively on Android and iOS devices, which means the desktop application doesn’t have it yet. For those who do have access to the feature, simply press the Plus Symbol on the top right of the Your Library section and select AI Playlist. Type whatever you please and Spotify’s AI will make you a playlist based on your prompt.
Spotify AI Playlists could be fun, but what are the drawbacks?
The idea of playing around with an AI that exists for the sole purpose of taking the ridiculous nonsense I write and finding the appropriate songs seems like tons of fun. I can already imagine what I’d experiment with. Prompts like “intense battle music for an Avatar: The Last Airbender-themed tabletop roleplaying campaign” or “disturbing music for writing a grotesque horror novel.”
But will it actually be useful? It’s hard to imagine me coming out of the other side from any of the prompt ideas I have super satisfied with the results, but that’s a big part of why the feature is in Beta. This will likely need refining over the course of millions of user prompts, and perhaps further in the future, it will actually become okay at finding the correct music for the vibes you’re looking for.
Regardless of my doubts, this feature sincerely excites me. I’ve always had trouble with how AI is often used to steal from artists or do shady things like create real-sounding recordings of people, but if handled well, this could actually make it easier to find lesser known artists and give them support. Beforehand, I’d have to google the music I was looking for, and a prompt like “battle music for D&D” would spring up the same SEO-driven videos that I never found much use for.
On the other hand, this could actually help highlight smaller artists by giving me direct access to their work. However, this obviously depends on how the AI determines what makes a song suitable for a certain prompt. If more popular artists have a higher chance of being thrust into playlists of this kind, it could definitely defeat some of the potential here.
While the feature is still only available in the U.K. and Australia, we’re looking forward to getting our hands on it and experimenting.
