Spotify’s AI DJ now speaks Spanish. It can curate a line-up of music while providing commentary about said music for Spanish-speaking audiences. The feature is in beta.
Spotify says it has learned several vital things about how English-speaking people interact with its AI DJ when it launched earlier this year. Commentary delivered alongside personalized music recommendations makes listeners more likely to listen to a song they may have skipped. It has also increased listening time, as Spotify says median DJ listeners spend more time listening to DJ than listeners of other recommended music.
Spotify’s English AI DJ voice was provided by its Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier Jernigan. To create the voice model for the DJ in Spanish, the company hired Senior Music Editor, Olivia ‘Livi’ Quiroz Roa, who is based in Mexico City.
Livi is a playlist curator for Spotify and has played an instrumental part in the launch of its EQUAL program in Mexico. Her voice resonated the most with users, with testers feeling like they were receiving music recommendations from a friend.
The Spanish speaking AI DJ will be available for Spotify Premium listeners in markets where the DJ is currently available. It is also expanding to Spotify Premium users in Spain and across select markets in Latin America—Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
How to Access Spotify AI DJ in English or Spanish
- Open the Spotify app.
- Tap the search tab.
- Search ‘DJ.’
- Press play and the personalized DJ will begin choosing music and adding commentary. Tap the ‘three-dot menu’ while in the DJ card to choose between English or Spanish language commentary.
Spotify’s note about DJ listeners not skipping music is an important one—music recommendations always need a human element. Scrolling through an endlessly generated playlist is nowhere near as satisfying as having someone say, ‘hey, I think this song is really great.’ Even if that someone is AI-generated.
