AI is becoming an even more integral part of Spotify’s platform, with the launch of a new feature that lets users enter text prompts to build personalized playlists.
Prompted Playlist, as it’s known, launched in beta for users in New Zealand on Thursday (December 11) with the ability to turn text prompts – ranging from short and general to long and detailed – into playlists, augmented by the user’s entire listening history and broader music trends.
Spotify says it’s the first time that a user’s entire history will be part of the playlist creation process, and claims to be “giving users the power to steer the algorithm.”
For instance, a user could ask for “music from my top artists from the last five years,” and add to that “deep cuts I haven’t heard yet.” Or they could request “high-energy pop and hip-hop for a 30-minute 5K run that keeps a steady pace before easing into relaxing songs for a cool-down,” or “music from this year’s biggest films and most-talked-about TV shows that match my taste.”
Users can always fine-tune by editing the prompt, and can also request a regular refresh of the playlists, essentially creating a personalized version of Spotify’s Discover Weekly feature. There is also an “ideas” tab where users can choose from pre-created prompts.
Additionally, each song surfaced through Prompted Playlist will come with a description explaining why the customized algorithm picked that track.
Spotify is portraying the new feature as part of its effort to make the music streaming experience more personal and controllable by users.
“This new feature is part of a broader shift in how we think about personalization and what we think consumers will expect from their services in the future,” Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s Co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer (and soon-to-be co-CEO) wrote in a blog post.
“Our goal is to make Spotify more personal, more responsive, more intelligent, and more aware of the world and culture around it, in order to bring greater value to listeners, artists, and creators.”
While Spotify is casting Prompted Playlist as a first, it has experimented with user prompts for playlists before. It rolled out an AI Playlist feature last year that turns text prompts into song suggestions, and earlier this year, Spotify expanded the AI DJ feature with the ability for users to ask for changes to the algorithm by voice.
“For artists, this unlocks smarter, more inspired discovery, surfacing their music for the right listeners and opening new ways to deepen their fan bases.”
Gustav Söderström, Spotify
“Spotify listeners have created nearly 9 billion playlists, which is proof that human curation is still the heartbeat of the platform,” Söderström wrote.
“And for artists, this unlocks smarter, more inspired discovery, surfacing their music for the right listeners and opening new ways to deepen their fan bases.”
Spotify’s move comes at a time when many digital services are aiming to increase engagement through personalization.
Earlier this week, Meta’s Instagram became the latest platform to integrate AI prompts into its experience with a new feature that enables users to see why certain content appeared in their Reels, and to alter that content by letting the algorithm know what subjects they’re interested in.Music Business Worldwide
