Spotify has launched a new AI-powered DJ feature that curates and comments on a personalized, ever-changing playlist. Spotify describes it as an “AI DJ in your pocket” that “knows you and your music tastes so well that it can choose what to play for you.”
In the demos, the new feature mimics a radio host quite closely, adding small details and comments about the artist or tracks while smoothly transitioning between songs.
The playlist is endless, but users can switch genres or artists by pressing the DJ button. Based on this feedback, AI improves further recommendations for a particular user. The system can scan for new releases to suggest new artists that the user might like or suggest old tracks that the person liked before.
The DJ’s artificial voice is based on voice technology from startup Sonantic AI, which Spotify acquired last year. Spotify claims spoken words are created from a variety of sources, including a writer’s room filled with “music experts, cultural experts, data curators [и] by screenwriters,” and generative AI technology provided by OpenAI.
Spotify DJ
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There is currently only one Virtual DJ voice available, based on the voice of Xavier “X” Jernigan. He previously served as Spotify’s CEO before taking on the role of host for the company’s podcast, The Get Up. Spotify says it’s “the first model for DJs,” suggesting there will be more virtual voices to choose from in the future.
So far, the AI-based virtual DJ is running in beta mode. The company is working “with some very new technologies” and will improve the system as they develop. For now, the new feature is only available in English for Spotify Premium subscribers in the US and Canada.
Source: The Verge
