Spotify’s AI-Powered Music Mixing Feature Now Available in 50 Countries
After being soft-launched in the US and Canada in February, Spotify’s AI-powered DJ feature is expanding to 50 additional countries. Following its recent introduction in the UK and Ireland, the robotic Wolfman Jack will now be available in various countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
There is a caveat, but it depends on a preliminary understanding of what this tool actually does. Spotify DJ is available to premium members and offers algorithmic recommendations for what to listen to, just like any music streaming app. However, these recommendations come with an AI-generated DJ commentary on what you’re listening to. So what is chafing? Based on Spotify’s Xavier Jernigan, the DJ only speaks English, no matter where you live. This is not a big deal for Australia and New Zealand, but an annoying limitation for listeners in Ghana, Singapore and most other parts of the world. A Spotify spokesperson told ReturnByte that the company has “no more news to share about new languages at this time.”
Despite the language limitations, it’s still a nifty set of tools. It combines OpenAI’s patented LLM technology, powered by ChatGPT, and Sonantic’s AI speech production platform. Sontic was acquired by Spotify last year, largely because of its focus on producing realistic speech. In addition to AI-enhanced speech, the platform also provides written information about why a certain song was chosen.
This tool is now available to Spotify Premium users worldwide, but this is beta, so expect changes and improvements in the short and long term. Spotify says it will “continue to iterate and innovate the experience.”
