Spotify recently announced the launch of an AI DJ. As someone who listens to a lot of music while working, I decided to give it a try and provide my review. I should mention that I mostly stick to a collection of 500 liked songs, playing them on repeat. Occasionally, I explore my Discover Weekly or Release Radar playlists if they pique my interest. So when a good friend shared their positive experience with the AI DJ, I was intrigued.
I have to admit, I’ve been a bit disappointed with the AI DJ so far. While it has introduced me to some new songs that I’ve added to my “liked songs” list, the overall experience has been somewhat lacking. First of all, it categorizes songs into generic classifications and acts based on those categories. This works well within each category, but the transition between categories feels disjointed.
To give you an example, here are some prompts I’ve received from the AI DJ while writing this post:
- “I heard you’ve been into <genre> lately, and I have some recommendations.”
- “Let’s go back to what you were listening to in <time period>.”
- “I have a song from <artist I enjoy> and similar artists.”
- “Here is a selection from <genre> that our editors have been enjoying.”
- “Here is some <genre> from before our time together.”
- “Now it’s time to get into a vibe, and that vibe starts with <artist I enjoy>.”
Each of these prompts only includes about 5 to 10 songs, which highlights the discontinuity even more. Some of these prompts work back-to-back, but what I was listening to in a certain year feels out of place with the rest of the music selected.
Overall, the Spotify AI DJ is nice. It offers a mix of familiar songs and introduces me to new ones. However, when I thought about an AI DJ, I imagined something more than just suggesting songs based on generic prompts. It would be really cool if it could create an actual DJ set that seamlessly transitions between genres while maintaining coherence.
Do I recommend it? Yes. Of course. It is a new fun way to listen to Spotify. Am I completely happy with the offering at this time? No. I am hopeful it only gets better with time. As of now, though, it probably finds a home in my rotation between my Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Liked Songs playlists.