Spotify’s AI DJ — also known as “DJ X” — debuted as a unique feature of the popular music platform back in 2023. With the introduction of a new “request” ability earlier this year, and recent discussions of more advanced AI capabilities to come, it’s time to examine just what this AI DJ is all about (and if it’s any good).
Spotify frequently sets itself apart from its music-streaming competition by offering a range of tailored listening experiences to subscribers. From six ever-changing genre-focused “Daily Mix” playlists to the “On Repeat” and “Discover Weekly” features (not to mention the now-infamous “Spotify Wrapped”), using this platform introduces listeners to engaging and exciting ways to learn about themselves as a music-lovers.
The relatively new AI DJ feature is an extension of this interactivity. So what sets it apart from all of Spotify’s other gimmicks, and what’s it like to listen to?
What (and Who) is DJ X?
On a basic level, Spotify’s AI DJ plays an infinite setlist of songs to suit your own individual taste, based on what you’ve previously listened to on the platform. The songs it picks might be from your “Liked Songs” playlist, or they might just be things you’ve listened to lately. It also recommends new songs and artists here and there.
Every few tracks, “DJ X” will jump in to tell you the theme of the next few songs or to mention a statistic about your listening. For example, he brought up the fact that last month, I was in the top 2% of listeners for The Shins. Who knew!
One of the first things I noticed while trying out this feature was that the DJ’s voice sounds human and personable. After a little research I discovered probably the coolest thing about this AI DJ — the guy it’s based on. Xavier “X” Jernigan.
Yes, the “X” in “DJ X” is based on Jernigan’s name. It’s luckily not an association with Elon Musk, who loves to use the letter in his business ventures.
Jernigan, who recorded voice lines for the AI DJ, has real experience in DJ-adjacent fields. He hosted a Spotify-exclusive morning show called “The Get Up” and he’s even worked at a few record labels. Currently, he’s Spotify’s Head of Cultural Partnerships.
Many AI voices are trained on recordings from numerous real-life individuals. However, DJ X was entirely trained on Xavier Jernigan. This was a smart move on Spotify’s part, since the voice of their AI sounds, more or less, like a real person.
A DJ’s Review
Like the real-life DJ X, I also have some DJ experience. As a former college radio host, I know a little bit about creating unique listening experiences on the air. While this AI is far more personalized than any actual radio show could ever be, it’s definitely the closest thing Spotify has to a radio DJ. I’d never thought to click on DJ X before, since I was a DJ myself and valued the human side of the craft.
However, AI’s increasing presence in Spotify’s interface, combined with a few good reviews from friends, made me curious about this DJ. I thought I’d bite the bullet and give it a try for a week.
What Rocks:
Despite some general skepticism surrounding AI features, I can admit that there are a few entertaining aspects to DJ X. The variety of songs it plays makes it easy to listen for a while without getting bored. This DJ set is never-ending, after all, and I’ve never seen the same track appear twice in one listening session.
The implementation of “song blocks” almost makes it feel like listening to a real radio show. For example, DJ X might play a few of your top current songs, then a few songs you listened to two years ago, then some indie songs, and then some songs from the 2010s, and so on. These blocks keep the feature fresh and fun, especially when DJ X intersperses them with user listening statistics.
A feature that caught me a little off guard at times was the automatic fade transition between songs. As I’ll go into in the next section, this was often distracting. However, it did help the overall radio-listening vibe, and there were a few fade-ins and fade-outs that sounded very high-quality. Good job spinning “Davy Crockett” by Hinds into “Humility” by Gorillaz, DJ X.
The relatively new “request” feature is also easy to use and effective. With the press of a button, you can ask DJ X to play a specific song, artist, or genre. Although, I often find myself just turning off the DJ feature and going to an artist’s page if I want to hear them specifically. It’s hard to break that habit and remember that the request capability exists.
What Flops:
As I alluded to, the fading transition between songs can often be distracting. Especially when it cuts out a whole forty seconds at the beginning or end of certain songs. If a song has a long instrumental or spoken intro/outro, DJ X will often skip over these parts entirely. While this can sometimes work to the benefit of the set, it can be detrimental to certain songs.
“Solar System” by Superorganism, a song with an ethereal spoken outro, was cut short while I was listening to it. I definitely felt a little robbed in that instance. Likewise, “Planetary (GO!)” by My Chemical Romance just isn’t the same without it’s synthy intro.
DJ X On The Mic
DJ X’s commentary between songs definitely can be interesting to hear. Though he doesn’t discuss artist backgrounds as much as a human radio DJ would, he occasionally provides some informative context.
Before playing a song by Laura Jane Grace, he told me that political activism often influences her music. However, this is by far the most substantial thing he’s said about any artist during my listening sessions. Oftentimes, his commentary can be rather meaningless. Like telling me that he’s got a “vibe that’s all about the chill” coming up next (I get the idea, but that’s absolute word-salad). Or that the band Be Your Own Pet is “leaving a mark on the indie scene.” What does this really mean? Are they topping the charts? Selling out lots of shows? Acting as an influence for other artists? He doesn’t elaborate.
This commentary is what sets the AI DJ feature apart from the “On Repeat” or “Daily Mix” playlists. So, the commentary should be more frequent and more in depth.
I’m not sure how this could be achieved, though, since AI can’t actually have opinions on music. DJ X can’t be excited for a new Ke$ha album or tell us about the experience of seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers live (things a human DJ could definitely express). At most, it can read out encyclopedic facts.
I think the best suggestion for improvement that I could offer would be to have these facts be a little more specific and obscure. Surely, the AI could at least learn some deeper Wikipedia-level trivia. I definitely wouldn’t want future iterations of DJ X pretending to have preferences or emotional connections to songs, though. That would just feel manufactured and insincere.
“On Repeat” on Repeat
On the whole, as a longtime Spotify user, DJ X just did’t feel like that new of an experience. For the most part, the songs selected by the AI were just songs that I had been listening to lately. The longer I listened, the more diverse the selections became, however, DJ X always started the set with songs that were at the top of my “On Repeat” playlist.
This month, I’ve been obsessively into the band Skating Polly, and in countless instances, the first song DJ X played would be by them. In its effort to be an individually-tailored listening experience, the AI DJ can only add so much variety to a setlist. Of course I like hearing my favorite songs, but I could do that with any number of Spotify’s pre-existing playlists, daylists, and artist radios.
DJ X just isn’t really a DJ. He can sort of recommend songs, but he doesn’t know how to crack jokes or draw listeners in with personal anecdotes related to the music he plays. I’m sure Xavier Jernigan has this ability, but the AI based on him definitely doesn’t. He’s essentially just the “On Repeat” playlist with insubstantial remarks peppered in.
Spotify, AI, and The Future of DJ X
There are a few larger issues with Spotify’s new AI direction. While I admittedly enjoy using Spotify as a platform, there have been some recent developments with the company that have gotten me to start considering shifting away from it.
Most notably, popular rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard recently removed the entirety of their music from Spotify. This was due to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in AI military drone technology. A few other artists (like Deerhoof) have chosen to do the same.
DJ X is different type of AI from what King Gizzard is protesting, but there are already definitive plans to expand its functionality and “reasoning” abilities. On multiple levels, Spotify is going all-in on AI, and this isn’t necessarily a good thing. After all, how complex does listening to music really need to be?
While the planned advancements in DJ X’s AI remain to be seen, it’s a decent — but not revolutionary — feature at the moment, and I can safely say I’m still personally skeptical.
