By Rory McNelley, Education and Enrichment Coordinator

Last weekend on my way to work I decided to try something different. Considering I leave for work around 5 a.m. I may have been delirious, but I clicked the DJ button on Spotify. Never in a million years did I think that an AI robot man would be picking my music but to my surprise, he’s a genius.

DJ is a listening option that rolled out on Spotify in February 2023 that has recently gone through a rebranding process. The new and improved DJ is an AI powered feature that acts as a virtual DJ picking songs just for you. DJ manages to strike a perfect balance between tried-and-true favorites and undiscovered tracks to keep things interesting.

I was running late and could not decide what playlist best fit the mood so I did something I rarely do, I scrolled past my recently listened and entered into the mysterious world of Spotify’s recommendations. I have always been loyal to my own creations, never giving Spotify’s mixes or radios a chance.

After bracing myself while DJ explained his music selection process, he played three extremely different songs. First was “I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers. I mean what a way to start the morning. Second, he played “Indifferent” by Megan Moroney and lastly, he played “No Vacancy” by Treaty Oak Revival.

After the first three songs he spoke again. This is the one thing I do not love about my new music assistant. Every few songs he chimes in to comment on his selection. I appreciate the work he is doing, but I could go without the comments.

The reason I like the DJ so much is that sometimes it feels overwhelming to try and find new music. I have a wide range of musical interests; my top five artists in last year’s Spotify Wrapped were Lana Del Ray, Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Kahan, Tyler Childers and Frank Ocean. 

I love finding new favorite songs, but I hate looking for them. TikTok is always good place to discover new music but now with Spotify DJ, I have an assistant who knows my music taste and searches for new songs to introduce me to.

With DJ doing the work for me I can effortlessly listen to a mix of my favorites with new songs sprinkled in. I can hit the add or subtract button to add it to my liked songs or inform the DJ that it was not a favorite. I was a tried-and-true Spotify user, but now I don’t think I can ever see myself using Apple Music when Spotify perfectly curates new music for me.

The DJ is wonderful. Though I am not a fan of AI, I was pleasantly surprised that it could be used in this way. I truly think this idea is genius, for those of us who like to keep our music fresh and still cling to our all-time favorites.