Spotify vs Songhunt: How AI playlist tools differ and what it means for music discovery

AI is increasingly deciding what we listen to, but not all AI-powered playlists are created equal, as this test by the Songhunt team showed in a head-to-head match-up with Spotify.

from the team at My Part

With the release of Spotify’s new AI Playlists feature, we couldn’t resist pitting it against our own AI-powered song search and playlisting engine, Songhunt. Here’s how they measure up:

For our head-to-head comparative strengths and features overview, we ran prompts like:

1. “I’m looking for empowering pop breakup anthems by female artists“
2. “Catchy songs about social media“
3. “Find me songs that sound like ‘Ho Hey‘ by The Lumineers“
4. “Songs about sustainability with a repetitive hook“
5. “Songs similar to DNA by Kendrick Lamar but without curse words“

What we discovered

Spotify’s AI tends to prioritize popular/trending artists and user behavior, leaning heavily on what’s hot and what users are already listening to. In contrast, Songhunt specializes in content-based recommendations, focusing on deep analysis of the song (musically, sonically and lyrically). This approach delivers more accurate and diverse recommendations, pushing users beyond the familiar safety net of mainstream hits and chart-toppers.

Bottom line: While Spotify’s foray into the AI domain is undoubtedly an intriguing and exciting move for existing users, Songhunt’s tailored experience and its commitment to deep AI analysis and content-based recommendations continue to set it apart in the new music discovery game.

With Amazon Music announcing the launch of Maestro, its own AI playlist generator, it’s clear the AI song search revolution is gaining momentum. We’re eager to see which other companies follow suit, and will be sure to conduct more head-to-head comparisons as new contenders emerge!