Amazon Music's Maestro, its new AI playlist generator, could challenge Spotify. Here's why

Amazon Music is eyeing Spotify as it’s announced Maestro, its latest music generator. But it’s more than that: you can ask AI to create playlist for you using simple word prompts or even emojis.

The Seattle tech giant announced on Tuesday that Maestro is now live for beta testing, rolling out for a small number of music listeners in the US on both iOS and Android devices, with any subscription type (free or premium).

The premise is simple: You can provide prompts like emojis or short ideas, and Maestro generates unique playlists, such as songs that sound like emojis or specific eras. 

And it’s not just plain, boring simple words, as Amazon details in the post. The company then details some of the prompts you can use, like, “I tracked my friends and they’re all hanging out without me,” “Make my ? a genius,” or “Myspace era hip-hop.”

If you’re on the Unlimited tier, you can save the playlists instantly, but for folks in Prime and free tiers, you have 30-second previews before saving.

Spotify, Amazon Music’s number-one competitor, also announced a similar feature a little while ago. The feature, while it may not be as creative as Maestro, is now rolling out for beta testers in the UK and Australia. 

But still, Spotify’s AI playlist generator is only available for premium users for the time being, while Maestro also arrives for free tiers.