Amazon Music Launches Maestro, an AI-Powered Playlist Generator, in the US

Amazon Music launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered feature that can create playlists based on text prompts on Tuesday. The feature, dubbed Maestro, is currently in beta and is being rolled out to a limited number of users in the US. Amazon said that users on all tiers of Amazon Music mobile app, including the free tier, can access the feature. Maestro, the conversational AI, can also understand emojis, so users can type a series of emojis in a prompt and it will still create a relevant playlist. Notably, the development came just a week after Spotify introduced its own AI Playlist generator in beta.

The announcement was made via a post on Amazon's newsroom. The company said, “Today, Amazon Music announces a new feature that uses AI technology to make it easier and way more fun to build playlists you want, when you want. Meet Maestro: An AI playlist generator that helps you create any playlist you can think of—plus all the ones you can't.”

Maestro, the AI-powered chatbot, is a conversational AI, meaning it can understand and complete tasks given to it in natural language. As per Amazon, users can type a short description of what they're looking for, or make the prompt as detailed as they'd like. Amazon Music listeners can also use emojis to express what they're looking for. Emojis can be used on their own or in combination with words. Maestro also accepts verbal prompts. Amazon says good prompts should contain emojis, emotions, activities, and sounds.

Even as Amazon Music is shipping the feature to beta testers, it highlighted that Maestro is not a finished project. The company cautioned that the AI may not always get the playlist right the first time, and users should tinker around to find the right prompt to get the songs they're looking for. Additionally, the company has also implemented systems to proactively block offensive language and inappropriate prompts. Users can share feedback with the company if they come across any behaviour that might ruin the experience for everyone.

The feature can be found by beta users on the home screen of the mobile app. It is also housed within the plus icon which lets users create a new playlist. The feature is available to select users in the US across Amazon Music's Free, Prime, and Unlimited tiers on both iOS and Android. Amazon didn't specify a wider launch timeline for the feature but said that it planned to expand access to Maestro to more customers over time. While Prime members and free tier users can listen to 30-second previews of their playlists before saving, Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can listen to their playlists instantly and save it later.