ChatGPT's new lineup of apps has some interesting choices, but it was Spotify's inclusion that immediately grabbed my interest.
The apps are relatively easy to access; you only need to mention wanting to do something that one of the apps is capable of, and ChatGPT will offer to link you to the relevant service. You can also ask for it by name.
I use Spotify far more than Expedia or Canva, so I was excited to try the ChatGPT integration and see how it works. To my surprise, it worked far better than I could've ever imagined.
Learning my musical past
I asked ChatGPT to link my Spotify account and went through the rigamarole of approving access to my account. Now, ChatGPT could gain a genuine understanding of my musical taste and listening history, for better or worse. Understanding your listening history and taste is one of the main features of the Spotify app in ChatGPT, so I decided to start there.
I know my listening includes an eclectic mix of music based on current interest or who's in the car with me. But, when I asked ChatGPT to describe my musical palate, I was told it's a "chaotic blend of punk, jazz, and classic rock, with a lot of showtunes and children's music recently."
The chatbot helped break down the details, showing the hype up music I tend to play in the morning, and the Sesame Street and Beatles songs coming out in the afternoon when I pick up my child from daycare.
Exploring musical ideas
As impressive as this was, I didn't just want to rehash my musical history. I like using Spotify to find new music, so I wanted to see if ChatGPT's app version could assist with that. I asked the AI chatbot, “Based on my history, what would I probably love but haven’t discovered yet?”
The AI responded with several suggestions, including under-the-radar newish punk bands I’d never heard of, some recent Broadway revival cast tracks, vintage Ella Fitzgerald B-sides, and a handful of other artists that ChatGPT assured me I would like despite being unrelated to any particular genre in my past. Surprisingly, I did like most of them, if not quite every track.
Next, I decided to test ChatGPT's song-hunting abilities. I wanted to find a more obscure Sesame Street tune, one that isn't on most "best of" lists, but that I thought my son would like. I only remembered it was between Ernie and a pigeon who played saxophone.
That was enough for ChatGPT to go through Spotify and find “Put Down the Duckie” for me almost immediately. Not only did it find the song, it suggested I might also enjoy the version with celebrities from Barbara Walters to John Candy.
Making Spotify playlists
Making playlists from prompts is the other main feature of the ChatGPT Spotify app. I asked ChatGPT to “Make me a nostalgic punk playlist for driving fast on the highway with the windows down.” It generated a 20-track list called Highway Punk that kicked off with “Jaded” by Green Day, hit its soft underbelly with “Wasting Time” by Blink-182, and closed on Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness.”
For contrast, I asked it to make a playlist for my son. “Give me an hour of toddler-friendly songs that I can enjoy too. The "Jazz Hands & Juice Boxes" playlist came up with balanced Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” with Bluey's theme song, Elmo's friendship anthem, and capped things off with a funky instrumental version of the Sesame Street classic, “Sing.” My son danced. I did not suffer. We both won.
I've always been an impulsive music listener, getting stuck on a favorite album for weeks and moving on never to hear it again, or jumping around a bunch of songs from Spotify's mixes without paying attention to what they actually are. I think I might become more informed about music with some AI help, though I hasten to add it's no substitute for talking with one of my more musically educated friends.
Still, at least for finding half-remembered tunes or making playlists of popular songs, you can do worse than asking ChatGPT to compile ideas on Spotify.
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