Ready to turn playlist creation over to AI? Amazon Music has a new feature called Maestro that's now available as a beta to some U.S. customers. The AI playlist generator creates playlists based on user prompts and suggests playlists as well.
Whether you subscribe to the free, Prime or Unlimited tier of Amazon Music, you'll be able to use Maestro through both iOS and Android apps, though there will be some differences in how extensively you can tap into the AI feature. Unlimited subscribers can listen to playlists instantly and save them. Prime and Free users can listen to 30-second previews of the suggested playlists before saving. (It’s unclear from Amazon Music’s announcement if that 30-second preview shows off different songs or is just a song from the playlist.)
Maestro works by taking a prompt idea — emojis, emotions, activities, sounds or suggested ideas — and using them to build a playlist tailored to that idea.
In an example cited by Amazon, you could use a robot emoji to "get a unique-to-you playlist that brings a selection of electronic and robot-like tracks to life." Other examples of prompts included emojis for a crying face and spaghetti along with phrases like "Myspace era hip-hop."
In its announcement, Amazon cautioned that the technology is new so Maestro "won’t always get it right the first time." Amazon says it's also put systems into place to block offensive language and inappropriate prompts.
To see if you were included in the beta, make sure that your version of the Amazon Music app is the most recent. According to Amazon Music, if you are in the beta you should see Maestro either on the home screen or when you tap the plus sign (+) to create a playlists.
It’s unclear how many people are going to be included in the Maestro beta initially, but the company noted it plans to slowly expand access.
Many of Amazon’s products have started to adopt new AI tools in recent months. This includes everything from Alexa and the Fire TV to shopping on Amazon with their new assistant, Rufus.
