Amazon Music is joining Spotify in starting to offer a generative AI-powered playlist feature. For now, Maestro is available in beta to a small number of Amazon Music users in the US on iOS and Android.
Folks who are included in the beta will see Maestro on the home screen after they update to the latest version of the app. They can also access the tool by tapping the plus button to create a new playlist.
The idea is to use natural language prompts to create any kind of playlist imaginable. Your prompts can include sounds, activities, emotions and even emoji. Amazon suggests you might ask Maestro to whip up a playlist of songs that sound like the robot emoji (in which case you'll probably hear a bunch of Daft Punk tracks). Other prompts the company suggests include "đ and eating đ," "Make my đ¶ a genius," "Myspace era hip-hop" and, bizarrely, "Music my grandparents made out to." Ewwww.
Based on those ideas, it does seem that Maestro is more or less ready to handle whatever prompts you can throw at it, though Amazon notes that the tech is still in beta. As such, Maestro might not always get things right immediately. The company also says that it has safeguards in place to prohibit offensive language and inappropriate prompts.
Amazon plans to roll out Maestro more broadly over time. As things stand, Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can listen to Maestro playlists instantly and save them for later (or share them with friends). Prime members and users on the ad-supported free tier can listen to 30-second previews of their playlists before saving them.
Earlier this month, Spotify debuted a similar feature for Premium members in the UK and Australia. AI Playlist works in much the same way as Maestro.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-debuts-a-generative-ai-powered-playlist-feature-150848360.html?src=rss Taylor Swiftâs music has returned to TikTok after a ten-week hiatus, according to a report by Variety. Her tunes left the platform after negotiations broke down between the social media app and Swiftâs label, Universal Music Group.
Itâs unclear what kind of deal Swift struck with TikTok to allow her to return to the platform, but we know one thing. The deal did not include provisions for fellow UMG artists, so Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Drake, among others, are still missing from TikTok. Taylor Swift, being the most popular musician on the planet, likely worked some magic here.Â
Sheâs not alone in her return to TikTok. Some songs by other UMG artists have begun appearing on the platform, ready for use in short-form videos. These artists include Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello. Variety suggests that their music was put up either by fans or representatives from the artists. We donât know if they struck their own deals like Swift may have.
The return could also be a promotional move for her upcoming album. The Tortured Poets Department comes out on April 19 and will likely have plenty of tracks that will be perfect for TikTok singalongs. Itâs worth noting that she partnered with the platform to promote Midnights, her last album of all-new material.
This all started when UMG threatened to pull songs from the platform after contract negotiations fell apart, with the label writing in an open letter that TikTok wanted to pay a âfractionâ of the rate paid by other social media sites. "As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth,â the company wrote. âTikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.â
TikTok went full âfake newsâ in response, writing that âdespite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.â Itâs worth noting that TikTokâs rebuttal did not mention artist payments, but did say that it has been able to reach agreements with other musicians and publishers.
Whatever the reason for Swiftâs return, the nationâs teens are no doubt rejoicing at once again being able to lip sync to "Cruel Summer" and "You Belong With Me." UMG and TikTok, however, are still battling it out, so this is likely not the last weâll hear about all of this.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/taylor-swifts-music-is-back-on-tiktok-184726589.html?src=rss Spotify is following the lead of many companies over the last year and dipping its toe into the world of AI prompts. The platform has announced AI Playlist, a new beta feature that lets you create playlists with a few words that get into the music vibe you want, such as "an indie folk playlist to give my brain a big warm hug."Â
According to Spotify, the AI playlist will accept prompts involving things like animals, movie characters, colors, places, activities and emojis. Examples from Spotify include everything from "sad music for painting dying flowers" to "relaxing music to tide me over during allergy season." It recommends using a mix of characteristics in your prompt to create the ideal playlist for your vibe.Â
The AI Playlist beta is available to Premium subscribers on Android and iOS devices in the United Kingdom and Australia. If you fall into that group, access it through the "+" button in the top right of your library. Click AI Playlist and choose an existing prompt or create your own. Spotify will create the playlist, and you can preview it, delete tracks, and provide notes. Once you're happy, click Create, which will save to your library.Â
Spotify's AI Playlist comes over a year after Spotify unveiled its AI DJ, which pulls together a selection of music you're currently listening to, previously played and songs it thinks you'll like based on your history. If the songs playing aren't precisely what you're in the mood for, then you can ask the DJ to switch things up.Â
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-tests-ai-generated-playlists-based-on-text-prompts-103115117.html?src=rss Spotify is officially expanding its offerings beyond just audio with the introduction of music videos. The streamer is rolling out a beta program that offers premium subscribers access to music videos on mobile, desktop and TV for a select number of tracks by artists like Ed Sheeran and Ice Spice.Â
In an email seen by TechCrunch, Sten Garmark, Spotify vice president and global head of consumer experience said: "We're starting with a limited subset of the full catalog, which includes thousands of music videos. Within this subset, we aimed to prioritize a wide range of genres and artists across our launch markets." YouTube (of course) and Apple Music both already offer music videos, so this new feature helps Spotify match up to some of its biggest competitors.Â
To watch a music video, Spotify users listening to a song can click "switch to video" right on the now-playing screen. The music video will always start the song back from the beginning, but users can touch switch back to audio at any point. Even if the music video plays through, Spotify will still queue the next song as audio only.
Currently, the beta option is only available in 11 countries, chosen for a "number of criteria including market size and the availability of local content support," Garmark said. While the US didn't make the cut, the countries included represent quite a global audience: Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Poland, Philippines, Sweden and the UK. Users from these nations must also have a premium account to watch music videos.
Rumors that Spotify might add music videos started last July following a number of layoffs (and more have come since). This announcement is the first time Spotify has announced the existence of music videos on its platform. However, a Reddit user posted three months back that they had the "switch to video" option on a single song: My Way, by Limp Bizkit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-adds-music-videos-in-11-countries-but-not-the-us-120002692.html?src=rss Neil Young is back on Spotify after boycotting the platform over two years ago, he said in a new blog post. The Canadian singer ditched the platform over vaccine misinformation on the Joe Rogan podcast, later saying he was fed up with Spotifyâs "shitty" sound quality anyway.Â
Young returned because Rogan's podcast is no longer exclusive on Spotify. "My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify," he said, without specifically mentioning the Joe Rogan Experience.
There's no way he could also pull his catalog from Apple Music and Amazon as well, he added, "because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all" if he did. Young also expressed hope that Spotify would improve its sound quality, while shouting out Quobuz and Tidal for presenting his songs in high-res.Â
"Spotify, you can do it! Really be #1 in all ways. You have the music and listeners!!!! Start with a limited Hi res tier and build from there!" he wrote. (Spotify did announce that it would launch a HiFi tier way back in early 2021, but it has yet to actually do so.)Â
Fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell joined Young in the boycott, and her music is still missing from the platform. Both had reason to be incensed about the vaccine misinformation on Rogan's show as both were victims of polio â a disease that was wiped out in North America thanks to vaccines.
It's hard to say how Young's boycott affected Spotify, but it certainly impacted his finances. Last year, Billboard estimated that pulling his songs from Spotify cost him roughly $300,000 in lost recorded music and publishing royalties.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/neil-young-is-returning-to-spotify-after-boycotting-it-over-joe-rogans-vaccine-comments-071217691.html?src=rss