Spotify adds AI-powered DJ to music listening

If broadcast radio felt disgruntled by on-demand listening apps before, now there is a new offense: Spotify has introduced a DJ feature which uses a synthetic voice to create a radio-like presentation of the user’s saved music. It is called AI DJ, and the tool uses generative artificial intelligence to intro and extro a mix of tracks from the user’s library.

We could not find the feature in a newly updated Android app, but the company says AI DJ is rolling out to all Premium users in the U.S. and Canada.

Here is an illustrative video (with more info below it):

Sptofy explains how AI DJ works:

“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.”

Under the hood is OpenAI technology — that is the company behind the famous (and increasingly infamous) ChatGPT. The product was developed by Sonsntic, a subsidiary which Spotify acquired last June. The voice that users hear belongs to Savier “X” Jernigan, one of the hosts of Spotify’s Get Up morning show. The sample of his voice serves as the model of DJ’s voice — and possibly not the only one, or last one, as the company says it will continue to “iterate and innovate” in that department.


Brad Hill