Tag: personalized

Spotify’s AI DJ Brings a Personalized Listening Experience to Fans in the UK and Ireland

May 16, 2023

In February we unveiled DJ, a personalized AI guide that understands you and your music taste so well that it does the choosing for you. Now we’re excited to start rolling out DJ in beta to Premium users across the U.K. and Ireland. 

At its core, DJ is all about connection and discovery. And thanks to DJ’s powerful combination of Spotify’s personalization technology, generative AI through the use of OpenAI technology in the hands of our music experts, and a dynamic AI voice, listening has never felt so personal. 

When we were deciding where to offer DJ next, the U.K. and Ireland just made sense. We have a team of local music experts on the ground in the region, and it’s where some of DJ’s fundamental technology has been developed.

We also know there’s demand: While we’ve seen fans across the globe asking for DJ, it was most commonly requested by users on social media in the U.K. and Ireland.* But don’t just take it from us . . .

 

When users in the U.K. and Ireland tune in they will be greeted by a stunningly realistic AI voice, modeled after Spotify’s own Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan. Plus, they’ll be served songs and context geared towards them. For example, users who tune in right around launch may hear about how Arlo Parks is releasing her newest album, My Soft Machine, at the end of May alongside her collab, “Phoenix,” with friend and longtime role model Phoebe Bridgers. And when it comes to an engaging listening experience, these moments of relevant context are winning DJ users over.

We’ve found that when DJ listeners hear commentary alongside personal music recommendations, they’re more willing to try something new (or listen to a song they may have otherwise skipped). On days when users tune in, fans spend 25% of their listening time with DJ—and they keep coming back. More than half of first-time listeners come back to listen to DJ the very next day.** 

And DJ has especially resonated with Gen Z and Millennials, who make up 87% of DJ users.***

But this is just the beginning. DJ is still in beta, and we’ll continue to iterate and innovate to evolve the experience over time.

Ready to give DJ a try? Just head to your Music Feed on Home in mobile.

*Results based on tweets between February 22, 2023 – May 11, 2023 from users with a publicly identifiable location.
**Results are based on eligible DJ users (Premium users in the U.S. and Canada on mobile) and collected from February 22, 2023 to March 1, 2023.
***Results are based on eligible DJ users (Premium users in the U.S. and Canada on mobile) and collected from April 28, 2023 to May 4, 2023.

Spotify Debuts a New AI DJ, Right in Your Pocket

February 22, 2023

Meet your AI DJ on Spotify

Personalization is at the heart of what we do at Spotify—just think of fan-favorite playlists like Discover Weekly, or our annual Wrapped campaign. The beauty of these experiences is our ability to deliver the right piece of music for that exact moment in time, and maybe even connect you with your next favorite artist in the process. We’re building on that innovation by harnessing the power of AI in an entirely new way. And today, we’re excited to share that we’re taking our personalization to a whole new level with DJ. 

Ready for a brand-new way to listen on Spotify and connect even more deeply with the artists you love? 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. This feature, first rolling out in beta, will deliver a curated lineup of music alongside commentary around the tracks and artists we think you’ll like in a stunningly realistic voice. 

It will sort through the latest music and look back at some of your old favorites—maybe even resurfacing that song you haven’t listened to for years. It will then review what you might enjoy and deliver a stream of songs picked just for you. And what’s more, it constantly refreshes the lineup based on your feedback. 

If you’re not feeling the vibe, 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. Think of it as the very best of Spotify’s personalization—but as an AI DJ in your pocket.

How our AI DJ works

To create the DJ we reimagined the way users listen on Spotify. The DJ knows you and your music taste so well that it will scan the latest releases we know you’ll like, or take you back to that nostalgic playlist you had on repeat last year. Never before has listening felt so completely personal to each and every user, thanks to the powerful combination of:

Spotify’s personalization technology, which gives you a lineup of music recommendations based on what we know you like. 

Generative AI through the use of OpenAI technology. We put this in the hands of our music editors to provide you with insightful facts about the music, artists, or genres you’re listening to. The expertise of our editors is something that’s really important to our philosophy at Spotify. 

We have experts in genres who know music and culture inside and out. And no one knows the music scene better than they do. With this generative AI tooling, our editors are able to scale their innate knowledge in ways never before possible.

A dynamic AI voice platform from our Sonantic acquisition that brings to life stunningly realistic voices from text.

To create the voice model for the DJ, we partnered with our own 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 our listeners and resulted in a loyal following for the podcast. His voice is the first model for the DJ, and we’ll continue to iterate and innovate, as we do with all our products. 

Where to find the DJ

Ready to have the DJ soundtrack your day? It’s rolling out in English starting today for Spotify Premium users in the U.S. and Canada. 

  1. Head to your Music Feed on Home in the Spotify mobile app on your iOS or Android device.
  2. Tap Play on the DJ card.
  3. Let Spotify do the rest! The DJ will serve a lineup of music alongside short commentary on the songs and artists, picked just for you. 
  4. Not feeling the vibe? Just hit the DJ button at the bottom right of the screen to be taken to a different genre, artist, or mood.

At Spotify we’re uniquely positioned to transform audio. We’re always looking for innovative new ways to improve our users’ listening experiences to meet their needs—so stay tuned for more.

*Update May 16, 2023: DJ is now rolling out in the UK and Ireland

*Update August 8, 2023: DJ is now rolling out in 46 more markets around the world

Get Perfect Song Recommendations in the Playlists You Create with Enhance

September 9, 2021

Avid playlist creators know: Some playlists come together without a hitch. With others, though, it may prove more difficult to find tracks that fit the tone or mood—or you might be looking to broaden your horizons and add new songs and artists. For those listeners who need some assistance while adding tracks to a new or existing playlist, we’re introducing Enhance.

Starting today, Spotify is rolling out Enhance, a new feature for Spotify Premium users to easily add personalized recommendations to their playlists.

 

Enhance brings together the best of you and Spotify, providing you with personalized recommendations to create playlists with ease while keeping you in control through an easy-to-navigate design. Simply turn these recommendations on or off with the tap of a button. And once Enhance is on, you’ll see your playlist populated with suggested songs that match the others in your playlist. 

Throughout it all, you stay in control of what gets added. Here’s how it works: 

  1. Simply toggle the feature on and off by tapping the new “Enhance” button at the top of each playlist. 
  2. Recommendations woven into the track list will then appear. You’ll get one recommendation after every two tracks, for a max of 30 recommendations. 
  3. If you like what you see, press the “+” icon next to each new track to permanently add them to the playlist.
  4. It’s an addition, not a substitution: The songs you add will never be replaced, and you can turn Enhance off with a simple tap.

Over the next month, Enhance will be rolling out to all Premium users in select markets* across Android and iOS. Additional markets are expected to follow in the coming months.

With Enhance, we’re helping our listeners do more of what they love: curate their playlists with great recommendations. Enhance will continue to evolve as we learn more, so stay tuned for those updates down the road. 

*Markets include: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, U.K., and the U.S. 

*Update as of October 20, 2021: Enhance is now rolling out in more than 130 additional markets.

Spotify’s Release Radar Personalized Playlist Celebrates Five Years and 16 Billion Streams

September 8, 2021

Five years ago, Fridays got a whole lot better with the launch of Release Radar. The personalized playlist delivers each listener a weekly roundup of new music from the artists they love at the end of the week—and has quickly become a fan favorite in the process. Since its launch in 2016, Spotify users across the globe have streamed from the playlist more than 16 billion times.

Release Radar has become a top-three personalized playlist for listeners around the world, with 18- to 29-year-olds making up more than 50% of the playlist’s audience. It can be found under “Discover New Music” within the “Made For You” hub. In honor of the playlist’s fifth anniversary, we’re sharing a selection of songs and artists that listeners had on their radars.

A few hot tracks:

Some popular artists:

And now, for the first time, Release Radar is joining the ranks of Discover Weekly and On Repeat as the third personalized playlist available for advertising sponsorship. This opportunity allows brands to align with a playlist that sits at the intersection of innovation and culture. It updates every week with music from the last six days, which means listeners are treated to new songs that suit their individual tastes, and advertisers can offer fresh perspectives, services, and products.

Leading the way is Disney+, our first U.S. launch partner. The company will use Release Radar to promote their Billie Eilish concert film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles, which premiered on September 3. Learn more about the opportunity at Ads.Spotify.com.

Stay ahead of the curve and check out the latest tunes on your personalized weekly Release Radar in the Made For You hub. And don’t forget to check again on Friday (and next Friday and the one after that), when you’ll have a new batch of specially curated songs.

The New Summer Breakouts Playlist Is Your Soundtrack for the Season

June 28, 2021

What’s the soundtrack to your summer? At Spotify, we’re taking bets on which breakout artists and songs will be racking up streams and sharing these songs in our new Summer Breakouts playlist, available to users across the U.S. and Canada.

Curated by Spotify’s editorial experts with tracks they predict will pop off this summer, the playlist also ranks the order in which they appear to fit each user’s taste based on the music they love.

 

From artists like BIA and Tai Verdes to Dayglow and Audrey Nuna, the playlist provides a range of new music to explore. Each week, the songs on the playlist will refresh, giving you more artists and tracks to discover and share. No matter your plans, you’ll have the perfect summer playlist for any moment. 

Ready to discover the artists and songs that we think will hit it big this season? Check out the Summer Breakouts playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXbAmP7AvWeiR

Daily Drive Comes to Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil

April 14, 2021

Whether your routine is workout-music-coffee or shower-breakfast-news, we all have a “daily route” we take to start our day. Looking to use that time to stay up to date on the world around you or get pumped up for work with your favorite jams? Now, listeners in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil can find it all in one place with Spotify’s Daily Drive playlist.

This personalized mixed-media playlist combines the very best of news talk shows, including the relevancy and personality of the hosts, with the best of audio streaming (on demand, personalized playing and discovery). It combines music you love with relevant, timely world updates from reputable sources—all put together in a seamless and unified listening experience.

Get revved up for a personalized playlist that blends music and news in one place for the perfect commute experience. Included at launch:

Mexican, Argentinian, and Brazilian users can make the most of their time on the road by tuning into Daily Drive starting today.