Spotify adds AI text to playlist creation, live Listening Parties

Spotify has added two new features—artist-driven live interactive Listening Parties and AI-powered text-based playlist creation—in beta and says both will be released more widely soon.

Select users on Android and iOS devices can create a personalized playlist by typing a prompt like “an indie folk playlist to give my brain a big warm hug,” “relaxing music to tide me over during allergy season,” or “a playlist that makes me feel like the main character” into the chat.

Prompts can reference places, animals, activities, movie characters, colors, emojis, and more. Spotify says the most successful playlists are generated with prompts combining genres, moods, artists, or decades.

For now, Spotify AI Playlist in beta is available to Premium subscribers in the U.K. and Australia, but the streamer says that will expand in the coming months.

Spotify Listening Party

Spotify is also widely testing a Listening Party feature to connect artists and fans. The new features reuses much of the tech behind Spotify’s now-defunct live audio service.

These highly interactive sessions include live chat, allow users to “take the stage” to ask artists questions, and enable merch sales during each Listening Party.

The streamer has been testing the feature in the U.S. and Indonesia and plans to expand to more markets. “It’s still in its early stages. But we’ve had a few artists test over the last few months, including Zara Larsson and Bleachers,” a Spotify spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Listening Party events are listed under the events section of the artist’s Spotify profile. Top fans receive an invitation, but any Spotify Premium user can join.

Spotify also offers Jam, which can create private listening parties for small groups of friends.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.