Spotify is latest brand to face AI backlash following over-the-top campaign
Spotify is the latest brand to face criticism use generative AI in its highly anticipated end-of-year campaign, Wrapped, released yesterday (December 4).
Dissatisfied users took TikTok, XAnd Reddit to air their grievances through the campaign’s AI-powered features, by calling the music streamer “lazy” and saying work ” failed “ for its lackluster design and removal of specific information, such as users’ top music genres.
This also removed Sound citiesa feature rolling out in 2023 that matched listeners to geographic locations based on their streaming habits.
Spotify put some of the Ai DOWN baby.
— HOOD VOGUE is tired of poverty (@keyon) December 4, 2024
Instead, the music streaming platform added new AI-powered features, like Your musical evolutionwhere, based on their listening history, users were given up to three descriptors to reveal “the musical phases that uniquely defined your year.”
Spotify used machine learning with human curation to identify words and genres based on user data, such as time spent listening to an artist or genre and peak listening months.
“No major genres, no localization for musical styles, and genres over about 3 months are random words mixed in”, wrote a Reddit user.
Your musical revolution.Spotify
In addition to its previous AI DJ And AI Playlist features, Spotify also added a AI Podcast built with Google’s NotebookLM.
“With this personalized audio preview, you can dig deeper into your best songs, artists, and genres, all delivered by two dynamic AI podcast hosts,” according to its site.
Spotify has packed the AI podcast of 2024.Spotify
Criticism of Spotify Wrapped also stems from fears that AI will replace creative jobs.
In 2023, the music streamer faced several rounds of layoffs. At the end of last year, he cut 17% of its workforceor more than 1,500 employees, in part because of “slowing economic growth and the high cost of capital.”
“…We still have too many people dedicated to supporting work and even working around work rather than contributing to opportunities that have real impact,” said CEO Daniel Ek. wrote in a company email at the time. “More people need to focus on delivering services to our key stakeholders: creators and consumers. »
Although the company has not responded to Wrapped’s backlash, users have been quick to correlate past job cuts with its new AI capabilities.
Rage against the machine
The backlash against Spotify comes at a time when consumers are increasingly criticizing brands for using generative AI in their marketing campaigns.
Coca-Cola recently faces scrutiny for using AI has reimagining its classic “Holidays Are Coming” commercialreleased last month. At the time, many artists and creative professionals were expressing concerns about creative jobs being replaced by technology.
Forbes too underlines inconsistencies in the ad, claiming that some of its details are “off”, such as the height of people, and Christmas lights and buildings having “absurd shapes and patterns”.
Toys ‘R’ Us faced similar heat. In June, the toy retailer launched its AI-generated product. “The Origin of Toys ‘R’ Us” advertisement featuring a child version of its late founder Charles Lazarus.
It received mixed reactions, with some users over I like the ad and others not so much. AI videographer Allen T. pointed out the discrepancies in the depictions of Lazarus throughout the commercial.
“The hands still need work,” he says. wrote in a post.
Consumers are also uncomfortable with ads promoting AI-based tools that downplay creativity and humanity. Apple Crush The ad, released in May, was pilloried for depicting creative tools, like paintbrushes and cameras, being crushed by a hydraulic press.
And Google’s Dear Sydney ad, released ahead of the 2024 Olympics, was widely criticized for depicting a father using AI to help his daughter write a letter to her icon, a scenario that many felt stripped a sweet father-daughter moment of her humanity.
