Together with
The Future. Human-curated playlists used to be a kingmaker at Spotify, but the music streamer is recently favoring AI-generated playlists as a way to hyper-personalize discovery for users and compete with TikTok. As playlist personalities are muted and curation becomes one-size-fits-one, the ability to platform potential hits may be harder to accomplish.
Playlist generation
Spotify playlists are hitting the assembly line with some new features, both internal and customer-facing.
- Spotify crafted an automated pitching form for playlist inclusion, downplaying the individuals responsible for playlist curation — the company doesn’t want curators claiming ownership of song choices.
- The streamer also introduced a system where employees tag songs to help them funnel to personalized playlists.
- Some human-curated playlists have even shifted to algorithmically-generated ones — this has even applied to popular playlists like “Housewerk” and “Indie Pop.”
- Spotify also rolled out a new tool called “Discovery Mode,” through which an artist’s team can submit songs for extra algorithmic pushes in exchange for a smaller royalty rate.
The AI-transformation comes just as Spotify’s playlists are somewhat losing their power — labels, managers, and other insiders report that streams are down between 30 and 50% of what they used to be in their heyday.
No reign lasts forever.
TOGETHER WITH CANVA
No design skills needed! 🪄✨
Canva Pro is the design software that makes design simple, convenient, and reliable. Create what you need in no time! Jam-packed with time-saving tools that make anyone look like a professional designer.