Welcome To Thursday’s Newsletter

In todays scoop 🍨 

• 🎵 Spotify's AI-Powered Wrapped: Not The Banger We Expected?

• 🔧 Trending AI Tool

🎵 Spotify's AI-Powered Wrapped: Not The Banger We Expected?

The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped just dropped, but users aren't exactly hitting the share button with the same enthusiasm as years past. Why? Well, it seems Spotify decided to remix their usual formula with a heavy dose of AI – and like most experimental albums, the reviews are... mixed. 🤷

What’s New?

For the first time ever, Spotify partnered with Google to create personalized AI podcasts using NotebookLM powered by Google’s Gemini AI Model. Think two AI hosts gushing about your questionable 3 AM listening choices. It's like having AI friends who REALLY care about your Taylor Swift obsession. 🎤

But some users are calling this year's Wrapped a "flop" faster than you can click "skip intro." Why? The beloved feel and features from previous years (like music personality matching and audio auras) got replaced with new AI bells and whistles. 🔔

🎛️ At least one thing's working: the AI DJ feature that debuted in last year's Wrapped is still a crowd favorite.

Remember when Spotify laid off 2,300 employees last year? CEO Daniel Ek admitted it impacted operations more than expected. Now, Spotify's leaning harder on AI than a tired partygoer on a wall:

• 🎧 Premium users can now generate AI playlists based on their Wrapped

• 🧘‍♀️ They added "Your Music Evolution" to track your musical phases throughout the year (did everyone else have a “pink pilates princess” summer?)

🐘 The Elephant in the Streaming Room

The missing features list reads like a greatest hits album that got accidentally deleted. Even basic stats like top genres got the silent treatment. What did we get instead? An AI podcast that's really enthusiastic about your musical choices. 🎶

Is this AI pivot a clever innovation or a corporate band-aid? 🩹After those massive layoffs, partnering with Google for an AI feature feels a bit like calling your tech-savvy friend when your usual production team is MIA.

Social media is more divided than a playlist mixing death metal and lo-fi beats:

• 🎵 X is flooded with users begging for the return of their beloved Wrapped features like a desperate ex trying to rekindle the magic

• 🎙️ The AI podcast is the definition of "it's complicated" - users are either thrilled about AI talking about their shower playlist or totally creeped out by it

🔮 What It Means for the Future

This could be many users' first dance with AI-generated podcasts, and the hosts are surprisingly... human? It's either fascinating or unsettling, depending on how you feel about AI knowing your complete listening history and talking like your therapist-meets-music-critic friends.

Spotify's "secret sauce" for Wrapped might need a new recipe. While pushing AI innovation is admirable, sometimes the classics hit different. It's like when your favorite artist goes experimental – interesting, but you kind of miss the old stuff.

Question is did Spotify really need to go all-in on AI, or were they just trying to make a splashy tech statement in a year that’s been dominated by AI?

🔧3 Trending AI Tools

• Pointer - AI copilot, working directly within Google Docs to offer smart, real-time edits

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Until tomorrow—stay curious! 👋