FX.co ★ Amazon Music Unveils Maestro, A New AI-powered Playlist Generator

Amazon Music, the streaming service operated by tech colossus Amazon, has begun to trial its latest artificial intelligence (AI) feature known as "Maestro". This innovative feature, currently in the beta testing phase, is an AI playlist creator enabling U.S.-based Amazon Music subscribers to create custom playlists using voice or text prompts, even inclusive of emojis.

Presently, Maestro is only accessible to a select group of U.S. Amazon Music subscribers. Users of this feature can create playlists using a variety of prompts, including emojis, with the AI-generated playlists being savable and shareable amongst other Amazon Music subscribers.

Those enabled with access to this beta feature will find Maestro displayed on their home screen when generating a new playlist or when tapping the plus sign. Once activated, Maestro commences the playlist assembly process where users can opt to type or vocalize prompts.

Reportedly, Maestro operates similarly to Spotify's AI Playlist, recently introduced to premium users in the UK and Australia. However, only subscribers to the Amazon Music app will have access to the Maestro feature.

Additional functionalities become available to Amazon Music subscribers through Maestro, including instant playlist listening with an option for later playback. Users with ad-supported subscriptions, however, will only be able to listen to 30-second previews of the songs before being able to save them. This limitation could potentially motivate more users to upgrade to the paid subscription should they be drawn to the AI functionality.

Amazon Music has incorporated certain safeguards with Maestro, such as blocking offensive language and inappropriate prompts. Feedback from beta users is eagerly anticipated by Amazon Music prior to expanding Maestro's rollout.