Look Out, Curators — Spotify Expands ‘AI Playlist’ Beta Into the U.S., Ireland, and More
Spotify has officially brought its AI Playlist feature to the U.S. and other markets. Photo Credit: Spotify
Almost six months after launching an AI Playlist beta in the U.K. and Australia, Spotify is bringing the feature to the U.S. and other nations.
The streaming platform just recently announced AI Playlist’s availability expansion, which has arrived roughly nine months following initial rumblings of auto-generated playlist tests. Especially in light of the strong consumer reception behind Spotify artificial intelligence offerings like AI DJ and Daylist, the AI Playlist embrace didn’t exactly come as a surprise.
Now, paid subscribers in the States, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand can also access the tool, which, as its name suggests, auto-generates playlists based on text prompts. A number of fans are already taking to social media to weigh in on the more widely available feature.
Beyond these early AI Playlist comments, the newest artificial intelligence buildout is important on multiple levels for Spotify. First, the development of AI Playlist, AI DJ, and Daylist has quietly expanded the service’s sway in the recommendation and promotion departments.
While many know streaming platforms generally favor major label acts, there’s relatively little discussion about the spots contractually guaranteed to high-profile artists on lucrative editorial playlists. In short, despite the comparatively pressing nature of the AI music deluge that’s hitting streaming platforms, the point could prove significant amid the evolution of recommendations.
Also worth keeping in mind is the way that AI Playlist and more will potentially fit into Spotify’s forthcoming “Deluxe” package. It’s not by chance that AI Playlist is available only to paid users, and reports have connected more advanced AI options yet, like mixing support, to Deluxe. (A long-elusive launch date for the tier, also referred to as “Supremium” and “Music Pro” in recent years, still hasn’t been nailed down.)
Bigger picture, Spotify is hardly alone in capitalizing on AI products, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the ultra-competitive streaming arena.
Amazon Music jumped into AI playlist generation with Maestro in April, for instance. Not to be outdone, Deezer joined the AI party by rolling out “Playlist with AI” in July, YouTube Music began experimenting with AI radio stations that same month, and Apple Music reportedly started testing the AI artwork waters.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Apple will invest in OpenAI as suggested by multiple reports about one month back. Of course, this and other AI giants are embroiled in several copyright infringement lawsuits centering on their training processes and adjacent outputs.
