A patent has been filed on behalf of Spotify to develop technology that will listen to users voices in order to suggest songs based on the sound of their emotions.
Spotify is trying out new emotion detecting technology in order to fix the issue of suggesting songs that tend to clash when the app is on shuffle. Users and the company have found it to be frustrating to be listening to an upbeat tempo, just to be brought down by a ballad.
The music streaming platform filed for this patent to use the technology to assess users based on age, gender, accent, and emotional state back in 2018.
The patent claims that ‘it is common for a media streaming application to include features that provide personalized media recommendations to a user.’ Spotify suggests that vocal recognition could allow the application to have a better understanding of the vocal rhythm and tempo of a user to determine their mood.
‘[The app] should be understood that the above example metadata categories of emotions, gender, age and accent are merely examples, and numerous other characterizations and classifications can be used.‘
US Patent
Not only could the new technology detect your mood but also cross reference it with your music taste to help create a better experience.
Some users, however are worried about how else this collected data will be used and if it will just be used for the purpose of detecting emotions. The concern for a lot of users is the question of privacy since this all seems a bit invasive.
The patent actually addresses this issue:
‘We recognize that one’s digital history is extraordinarily personal and sensitive. As such it must be treated with proper consideration of the conceivable misuses… from its access.
We disavow any future research or applications that violate ethical standards of data usage and are not transparent about privacy to its users.’
Spotify is also looking into experimenting in the karaoke world. A patent for a karaoke feature on the platform has been filed so users can sing their favorite songs without the lead vocals.
Want more Spotify news? Check out how ‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers passed 1 billion streams on Spotify.
