AI Will Replace Radio DJs On Spotify

A new AI DJ has been launched by Spotify in the same week that YouTube Music made it possible for users to create their own customized radio stations for the first time. As music streaming continues to grow in popularity, artificial intelligence is becoming a greater presence in the industry.

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The Spotify SPOT -2.33% (ticker: SPOT) DJ is powered by artificial intelligence (AI), and it will feature a voice that will explain what the songs are about and who the artists are, as well as queue up tracks based on the platform's existing music recommendation technology.

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A large part of the technology is being provided by OpenAI, the ChatGPT developer backed by Microsoft (MSFT).

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Spotify will initially only offer this feature to premium subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, and it will be interesting to see how users react to the idea of having a robot DJ playing their music. In spite of this, it is another effort to push into the traditional territory of companies such as iHeartMedia IHRT – 2.85% (IHRT), the largest radio station group owner in the United States, and SiriusXM LSXMA – 2.78% (LSXMA). 

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Alphabet's YouTube GOOGL -1.86%, a popular music-streaming service owned by Alphabet GOOGL -1.86%, is also building out its music-streaming service by providing users with the ability to create radio stations based on songs, artists, and moods. Unlike Spotify and SiriusXM's Pandora platform, it offers a customizable user interface that is similar to those found on Spotify.

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There is no clear indication of how much such features will change the game in the highly competitive world of music streaming. The online retail giant Amazon AMZN -2.63% (AMZN) has launched its own live-radio app, named Amp, that allows users to effectively DJ their own shows through its application. Consequently, around half of the employees in the Amp division were laid off during the e-commerce giant's cutbacks on some projects, according to reports at the time.

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With the media sector facing a slowdown in advertising, expect to see a rise in AI and algorithmic-driven programming in place of costly human DJs as the industry faces a slowdown in advertising.

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