In February we unveiled DJ, a personalized AI guide that understands you and your music taste so well that it does the choosing for you. Now we’re excited to start rolling out DJ in beta to Premium users across the U.K. and Ireland.
At its core, DJ is all about connection and discovery. And thanks to DJ’s powerful combination of Spotify’s personalization technology, generative AI through the use of OpenAI technology in the hands of our music experts, and a dynamic AI voice, listening has never felt so personal.
When we were deciding where to offer DJ next, the U.K. and Ireland just made sense. We have a team of local music experts on the ground in the region, and it’s where some of DJ’s fundamental technology has been developed.
We also know there’s demand: While we’ve seen fans across the globe asking for DJ, it was most commonly requested by users on social media in the U.K. and Ireland.* But don’t just take it from us . . .
When users in the U.K. and Ireland tune in they will be greeted by a stunningly realistic AI voice, modeled after Spotify’s own Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan. Plus, they’ll be served songs and context geared towards them. For example, users who tune in right around launch may hear about how ArloParks is releasing her newest album, My Soft Machine, at the end of May alongside her collab, “Phoenix,” with friend and longtime role model PhoebeBridgers. And when it comes to an engaging listening experience, these moments of relevant context are winning DJ users over.
We’ve found that when DJ listeners hear commentary alongside personal music recommendations, they’re more willing to try something new (or listen to a song they may have otherwise skipped). On days when users tune in, fans spend 25% of their listening time with DJ—and they keep coming back. More than half of first-time listeners come back to listen to DJ the very next day.**
And DJ has especially resonated with Gen Z and Millennials, who make up 87% of DJ users.***
But this is just the beginning. DJ is still in beta, and we’ll continue to iterate and innovate to evolve the experience over time.
Ready to give DJ a try? Just head to your Music Feed on Home in mobile.
*Results based on tweets between February 22, 2023 – May 11, 2023 from users with a publicly identifiable location.
**Results are based on eligible DJ users (Premium users in the U.S. and Canada on mobile) and collected from February 22, 2023 to March 1, 2023.
***Results are based on eligible DJ users (Premium users in the U.S. and Canada on mobile) and collected from April 28, 2023 to May 4, 2023.
Bizarrap is the latest artist to reach the Billions Club. The Argentinian producer has racked up more than 1 billion streams on Spotify of his track “Quevedo: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” which features Spanish rapper Quevedo. We awarded the coveted Billions Club plaque to Bizarrap following the conclusion of his “BZRP Live Tour,” a three-night performance that took place at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo in front of more than 60,000 fans.
From Argentina to the world
This recognition of Bizarrap’s achievement is a reflection of his incredible success on Spotify and of the global respect and admiration he’s earned through his music.
When his single with Quevedo first released last July, it only took 10 days for it to reach the top of Spotify’s global charts, and it made Bizarrap the first Argentinian artist to go number one globally. It later became Argentina’s most-streamed song in 2022, capping off a momentous year for Bizarrap and Quevedo, who also received a plaque for his contribution to the smash song.
Bizarrap’s growth is evident in his Spotify numbers. In just seven years, he went from 1.2 million streams to more than 2.9 billion in 2022. He was also the most-streamed Argentinian artist in the world last year.
Prior to Bizarrap’s performances in Buenos Aires, Spotify teamed up with the artist and helped fans get in the spirit by launching a collaborative playlist. Listeners were invited to submit songs they wanted to hear for the warm-up, creating a new way to interact with fans before the concert kicked off.
Bizarrap’s success is a testament to his talent and hard work. Congratulations to Bizarrap and Quevedo for their historic achievement—we can’t wait to see what the future holds for these two talented artists.
El artista y productor Bizarrap es el último en llegar al Club de los Mil Millones. El artista argentino lleva acumulado más de 1.000 millones de reproducciones en Spotify de su canción “Quevedo: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52”, en la que colabora el rapero español Quevedo. Le hemos otorgado la tan deseada placa del Club de los Mil Millones a Bizarrap tras el cierre de su gira “BZRP Live Tour”, tras su actuación de tres noches que tuvo lugar en el Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo ante más de 60.000 fans.
Desde Argentina hacia el mundo
El reconocimiento al logro de Bizarrap refleja su increíble éxito en Spotify, y el respeto y la admiración mundial que se ha ganado gracias a su música.
Cuando su Session con Quevedo se publicó por primera vez el pasado mes de julio, solo tardó 10 días en alcanzar el primer puesto de los rankings mundiales de Spotify, y convirtió a Bizarrap en el primer artista argentino en llegar al puesto uno mundial. Más tarde se convirtió en la canción argentina más escuchada en 2022, coronando un año trascendental para Bizarrap y Quevedo, que también recibirá una placa por su contribución a la canción.
El crecimiento de Bizarrap es evidente en sus cifras de Spotify. En sólo siete años, pasó de 1.2 millones de streams a más de 2.900 millones en 2022. También fue el artista argentino con más streams del mundo el año pasado.
Antes de las actuaciones de Bizarrap en Buenos Aires, Spotify se unió con el artista y ayudó a los fans a entrar en el “mood” lanzando una playlist colaborativa. Los oyentes fueron invitados a sumar las canciones que querían escuchar durante la previa del show, creando una nueva forma de interactuar con los fans antes de que comenzara el concierto.
El éxito de Bizarrap es un testimonio de su talento y su trabajo duro. Felicitaciones a Bizarrap y Quevedo por su logro histórico. Estamos ansiosos por ver qué les depara el futuro a estos dos artistas talentosos.
Escucha más de las Bzrp Music Sessions a continuación:
Avid dance fans know what it’s like to leave a show and immediately begin searching for a way to relive the experience. That’s why in 2020, Spotify created track IDs, a new suite of playlists co-curated by DJs and Spotify’s editorial team that include the songs DJs play in their sets as well as gems they’ve discovered along the way. In addition to allowing DJs to connect with fans in an entirely new way, these playlists help listeners discover songs they’ve previously heard live and want to find on Spotify.
Last week, we took track IDs to the next level with a new pop-up show series, track IDs: Presents. This yearlong live extension of track IDs capitalizes on the wave of excitement the dance community is feeling as they return to live shows. Fans can look out for pop-up performances featuring select artists and their exclusive sets in unexpected live places—and then find the DJs’ sets reflected in their track IDs Spotify playlists.
We debuted this series during Miami Music Week and Ultra Music Festival with an exclusive, 200-person show featuring Tale Of Us, an Italian DJ duo based in Berlin. The first-come-first-served performance excited fans, who dropped everything to experience the impromptu, stripped-down set.
To understand the ways Spotify engages dance and electronic artists and fans, we spoke to Ronny Ho—Head of Dance and Electronic Development—and Ashley Graver—Head of Dance, Pop, and Indie on the Artist Partnerships Team—fresh off the first track IDs: Presents moment.
What are track IDs? How have they been used historically?
Ronny: The term track IDs has been used quite a bit for the past few years to refer to how fans and artists alike try to uncover a track that they really like in a DJ set but are unfamiliar with. So today, you’ll see fans across social media or on message boards point out a timestamp on a video of their favorite DJ and say, “What’s the track ID?” For Spotify, specifically, track IDs is a program that we started back in 2020 where we co-create playlists between us and DJs that we select.
Ashley: The playlists really provide DJs with a platform to easily share the tracks from their sets that they would play in live shows. It’s another way for artists to further connect with their fans after the show so fans can rewatch, relive, and listen to their sets on the Spotify platform.
What inspired track IDs on Spotify? What’s been the response?
Ronny: We built the track IDs program during the early days of the pandemic, when there was no live community, nothing that artists could do to share their sets out—except for streaming. So when we launched the track IDs program, it really was a new avenue for fans to connect with the artists who they would normally want to see out at a club or festival. The beauty of naming it “track IDs” was that it was already such a widely used term, so people really were able to gravitate toward it and understand exactly what it was for. Fast-forward to today, we’re working with our global editorial colleagues to continue to launch new track ID playlists that are relevant to their local markets and that really respect the underground culture there.
Fans have been super inspired. The second we started launching these—and we were quite selective about the artists we were working with—we started seeing fans making their own, photoshopping our branding onto homemade versions.
Spotify has gone through updates and iterations throughout the years, but today, during Stream On, we unveiled our biggest evolution yet: a new, dynamic mobile interface built for deeper discovery and more meaningful connections between artists and fans. It gives listeners a more active role in the audio discovery process and gives creators more space to share their work.
We’ve found that the next generation of listeners craves better ways to sample audio before fully diving in. So get ready for a more active experience with advanced recommendations, a spotlight on visual canvases, and a completely new and interactive design—all to make discovering new audio easier than ever before and help introduce users to their next favorite artist, podcast, or book. Together, these updates work to bring creators and fans closer than ever, and help each build lasting connections.
“The world today pulls us in a million different directions,” said Co-President and Chief Product & Technology Officer GustavSöderström. “So the most important thing we, at Spotify, can do for creators is to reduce the distance between their art and the people who love it . . . or who would love it as soon as they discovered it.”
What to look out for in Spotify’s more visual, dynamic mobile experience:
Music, Podcasts & Shows, and Audiobook previews on Home: Simply tap into the Music, Podcasts & Shows, or Audiobooks feed to explore visual and audio previews of playlists, albums, podcast episodes, and audiobooks personalized to you. Then, tap to save or share, go deeper into the artist or podcast pages, play from the start, or continue listening from where the preview ended.
New feeds for discovery in Search: Scroll up or down to explore short Canvas clips from tracks from some of your favorite genres. Then easily save the song to a playlist, follow the artist, or share it with friends—all from one place. You can also explore related genres using the hashtags within the feed for easy discovery of new favorites. You can even preview tracks on some of your favorite playlists likeDiscover Weekly, Release Radar, New Music Friday, and RapCaviar.
Thanks to both of these new feeds of visual clips, you can scroll purposefully through music, podcast, and audiobook previews until you find something you like. And don’t worry—your Favorites aren’t going anywhere. Your shortcuts, or most recently played, will still appear at the top of your Home feed, so you can easily dive into whatever you were listening to last. We’re also adding previews to the top of your music, podcasts & shows, and audiobooks feeds for the first time.
DJ: Speaking of great recommendations . . . these announcements also follow the recent Beta launch of DJ, a new personalized AI guide for Premium users in the U.S. and Canada that knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you. We’ve already seen so much love for DJ—both on platform and across social media—and we’re not even out to 100% of users yet. On days when users tune in, fans spend 25% of their listening time with the DJ—and they keep coming back for more, with more than half of first-time listeners coming back to listen to DJ the very next day.*
Smart Shuffle: This new experience keeps listening sessions fresh with personalized recommendations that perfectly match the vibe of an original user-generated playlist. It breathes new life into carefully curated user-generated playlists, shuffling tracks and adding new, perfectly tailored suggestions.
Autoplay for Podcasts: Just like with music, we’re now serving Autoplay for Podcasts. When a podcast ends, another relevant episode that fits your taste will automatically play.
We’re constantly innovating our app experience so we can connect even more artists with listeners. And with these latest updates, you’re primed to discover more music, podcasts, and audiobooks easier than ever before.
*Results are based on eligible users (Premium users in the U.S. and Canada on mobile) and collected from February 22 – March 1.
Since launching Spotify’s brand-new AI DJ in beta a few weeks back, Premium listeners across the U.S. and Canada have had the chance to experience our personalization capabilities in a whole new way. We’ve already seen so much love for DJ—both on-platform and across social media—and we’re not even out to 100% of users yet. On days when users tune in, fans spend 25% of their listening time with DJ, and they keep coming back for more, with more than half of first-time listeners coming back to listen to DJ the very next day.*
Today at Stream On, Spotify Co-President and Chief R&D Officer Gustav Söderström and Spotify Head of Cultural Partnerships Xavier “X” Jernigan, whose voice is the first model for DJ, got the chance to highlight the new feature even further. With DJ, we’re reimagining how listeners hear and discover the music they love as the tool transforms Spotify from a music tool into a living, breathing, interactive music experience.
What went into building DJ? For the Record connected with some of the minds behind the new feature, including VP of Personalization ZiadSultan, Head of Product Design for Personalization EmilyGalloway, Product Director ZeenaQureshi, and Head of Global Hits J.J.Italiano, to better understand the synergy between the humans and technology that brought DJ to life.
Spotify boasts years of expertise in personalization. How did we leverage this to create DJ?
Ziad Sultan: Personalization is at the heart of what we do. When we ask our listeners what they like most about Spotify, more than 81% cite our personalization. That’s because we have a bit of a secret sauce: We combine state-of-the-art technology with human passion and expertise.
We applied that same recipe to DJ. The result is a delightful music-listening experience that is deeply personalized to each individual listener, yet at a scale that the world has not really seen.Never before has listening felt so completely personal to each and every user. And it’s made possible by a powerful combination of three things: Spotify’s personalization technology, generative AI in the hands of the world’s best music curators, and a stunningly realistic AI voice that brings it all to life.
Can you tell us more about how you designed the experience?
Emily Galloway: DJ is an entirely new way to listen, and a brand-new format, so there wasn’t a formula to follow when we were making decisions. We had to answer some core experiential questions like: “How do we take you on a journey with both familiar and unfamiliar music?” “How do we evoke feelings of nostalgia?” and “What does it mean to give context to music listening?” But most importantly was, “How might we help fans and creators form a deeper, more meaningful connection?” I’m really proud of where we’ve landed—making personalization and AI more human than ever.
We know listeners are excited as well—they feel something different. We continue to see connection and discovery as the main themes of DJ. We found that when listeners hear commentary alongside personal music recommendations, they’re more willing to try something new, to listen to a song they may have otherwise skipped. For Spotify, that brings us closer to our goal of deepening artist and fan connections.
Why did you decide to use a human-like AI powered voice for this experience?
Zeena Qureshi: We know that human voice helps people form connections, and the same is true when it comes to DJ. We found that having the voice sound human is key for users to foster a deeper connection with DJ, as human voice provides familiarity and instant context. By incorporating voice traits such as pacing, projection, emotion, and emphasis, it results in a DJ that’s emotional and highly realistic.
Last year, Spotify acquired Sonantic and its unique patented algorithms, making all this possible. Sonantic is now Spotify’s dynamic AI voice platform that creates compelling, nuanced, and stunningly realistic voices from text.
How does DJ leverage the expertise of our music editors?
J.J. Italiano: DJ is built from human editorial expertise married with cutting-edge technology—that is Spotify’s superpower. The editorial team, which consists of hundreds of experts across the globe who know music and culture inside and out, can now harness this power to help tell artists’ stories and better contextualize their songs. To help arm DJ with knowledge and expertise, we created a Writers’ Room with music experts, culture experts, data curators, scriptwriters, and generative AI. Adding in this context gives the listener a deeper connection and experience when hearing an artist or song—and I’m very excited to bring it to listeners!
Ziad Sultan: Putting generative AI technology in the hands of our music experts allows them to scale their expertise like never before. Taking a Writers’ Room approach allows us to ensure that the commentary is accurate, relevant, and enriching to the product experience. We’re very excited about this approach that builds on our years of experience combining human expertise with world-class technology. That’s how DJ is able to deepen the connection between fans and their favorite artists, as well as help them discover new ones.
Personalization is at the heart of what we do at Spotify—just think of fan-favorite playlists like Discover Weekly, or our annual Wrapped campaign. The beauty of these experiences is our ability to deliver the right piece of music for that exact moment in time, and maybe even connect you with your next favorite artist in the process. We’re building on that innovation by harnessing the power of AI in an entirely new way. And today, we’re excited to share that we’re taking our personalization to a whole new level with DJ.
Ready for a brand-new way to listen on Spotify and connect even more deeply with the artists you love? The DJ is a personalized AI guide that knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you. This feature, first rolling out in beta, will deliver a curated lineup of music alongside commentary around the tracks and artists we think you’ll like in a stunningly realistic voice.
It will sort through the latest music and look back at some of your old favorites—maybe even resurfacing that song you haven’t listened to for years. It will then review what you might enjoy and deliver a stream of songs picked just for you. And what’s more, it constantly refreshes the lineup based on your feedback.
If you’re not feeling the vibe, just tap the DJ button and it will switch it up. The more you listen and tell the DJ what you like (and don’t like!), the better its recommendations get. Think of it as the very best of Spotify’s personalization—but as an AI DJ in your pocket.
How our AI DJ works
To create the DJ we reimagined the way users listen on Spotify. The DJ knows you and your music taste so well that it will scan the latest releases we know you’ll like, or take you back to that nostalgic playlist you had on repeat last year. Never before has listening felt so completely personal to each and every user, thanks to the powerful combination of:
Spotify’s personalization technology, which gives you a lineup of music recommendations based on what we know you like.
Generative AI through the use of OpenAI technology. We put this in the hands of our music editors to provide you with insightful facts about the music, artists, or genres you’re listening to. The expertise of our editors is something that’s really important to our philosophy at Spotify.
We have experts in genres who know music and culture inside and out. And no one knows the music scene better than they do. With this generative AI tooling, our editors are able to scale their innate knowledge in ways never before possible.
A dynamic AI voice platform from our Sonanticacquisition that brings to life stunningly realistic voices from text.
To create the voice model for the DJ, we partnered with our own Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan. Previously, X served as one of the hosts on Spotify’s first (and personalized) morning show, The Get Up. His personality and voice resonated with our listeners and resulted in a loyal following for the podcast. His voice is the first model for the DJ, and we’ll continue to iterate and innovate, as we do with all our products.
Where to find the DJ
Ready to have the DJ soundtrack your day? It’s rolling out in English starting today for Spotify Premium users in the U.S. and Canada.
Head to your Music Feed on Home in the Spotify mobile app on your iOS or Android device.
Tap Play on the DJ card.
Let Spotify do the rest! The DJ will serve a lineup of music alongside short commentary on the songs and artists, picked just for you.
Not feeling the vibe? Just hit the DJ button at the bottom right of the screen to be taken to a different genre, artist, or mood.
At Spotify we’re uniquely positioned to transform audio. We’re always looking for innovative new ways to improve our users’ listening experiences to meet their needs—so stay tuned for more.
What does it take to break into Spotify’s “One Billion Streams Club?” A lot of talent and a bevy of passionate fans who just can’t get enough. When an artist has a track that reaches a billion streams on Spotify, their song is featured on the BILLIONS CLUB playlist. Now, a new collection of German artists—the first to do so—can add this milestone to their careers. Get to know them below.
Hailing from the Hessian town of Kassel, Milky Chance is the first German band to have a song reach 1 billion streams on Spotify. Their song “Stolen Dance” was recorded at the childhood home of the band’s lead vocalist, Clemens Rehbein. After publishing the song online in 2013, it soon became an international hit, reaching the top of the charts in more than a dozen countries.
“If someone had told us 10 years ago that this song would reach 1 billion streams, we wouldn’t have believed it. We still have to pinch ourselves from time to time,” said the band. “The magnitude of that number is incredibly hard to comprehend. We’re extremely grateful and want to thank our fans for their huge ongoing support.”
Since “Stolen Dance,” Milky Chancehas released three critically acclaimed studio albums and recorded more than 5 billion total streams on Spotify.
Musician, DJ, and record producer Robin Schulz has seen unparalleled success thanks to his talent for emotional melodies and beats. With more than 450 gold, platinum, and diamond awards—in 30 countries—it’s no surprise he can now add the “One Billion Stream Club” to his list of accolades. His track “Sugar (feat. Francesco Yates)” was released in 2015, and the catchy tune has racked up more than a billion streams. Most recently, Robin has collaborated with Dennis Lloyd (“Young Right Now”), Justin Quiles (“AEIOU”), and David Guetta (“On Repeat”) to release a series of dance-worthy tracks. All together, the artist has seen more than 10.5 billion streams on Spotify.
Dance DJ and producer Felix Jaehn became a household name in 2015 with his house reinterpretation of Chaka Khan’s classic “Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better) (feat. Jasmine Thompson).” He reached new heights when, in the same year, he released his remix of Omi’s “Cheerleader.” The track reached number one in 55 countries and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks. The song’s success resulted in Felix’s becoming one of the most in-demand electronic acts in the world. Since then, he has continuously produced pop dance hits that dominate playlists, dancefloors, and airwaves around the world. To date Felix has racked up over 200 gold and platinum certifications and amassed over 10 million streams on Spotify.
These newly welcomed artists prove that there’s a lot of impressive musical talent emerging from Germany.
To listen to more tracks from artists around the globe that boast at least 1 billion streams, check out our BILLIONS CLUB playlist.
No matter your typical go-to genre, there’s some music that simply makes you want to dance. An emphasis on genre fluidity and variation—alongside a desire for diversity, tolerance, brightness, and freedom—is the concept behind Bresh, a dance party that began in Argentina six years ago and quickly became a global phenomenon. The meeting place for artists, actors, and prominent Gen Z personalities is, in short, a vibe—and Bresh is now a popular dance party in more than 90 cities and 12 countries around the world.
During the pandemic, thousands of people tuned into Bresh’s livestreams to have a good time from home. Now IRL once again, the party has joined forces with Spotify as its official streaming partner so that Latin American users can enjoy the full experience on their smartphones long after the lights have been switched back on and participants have gone home.
This union will enable the promotion of Bresh’s official playlists on Spotify, “Hitazo Tras Hitazo,” which contains more than 40 hours of the most-listened-to and most-danced-to songs. Plus, through this partnership, we’re also committing to fostering momentum for both recognized and emerging artists and DJs associated with the party.
Bresh and Spotify share a similar goal: to provide young people with the best audio and the music they love, in one place. The alliance of Bresh and Spotify in Latin America will allow the party to continue to expand in the region, connecting young people from Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina with the values that represent them, such as multiculturalism and belonging.
The most beautiful (and popular) party in the world is now accompanied by the world’s leading audio platform. Together, we’ll work toward our mission of making Bresh a meeting place for all young people united in a shared language of multigenre fluidity, and of course, dancing.
Dance and electronic music fans have long enjoyed custom mixes from their favorite DJs as a signature listening experience exclusive to the genre. Today, DJs in eight markets around the world are sharing their own mixed-music content, in addition to high-quality compilations directly on Spotify through its new DJ Mixes, which the company is beginning to test out.
Available for all users in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand, this latest innovation opens up a completely new format for artists to get their music mixes in the hands of their fans and further expand their global audience.
DJ Mixes provides one integrated place where artists can seamlessly create and connect with their audiences.
In addition to the playlists, you can also check out various existing albums and DJ mixes in the Dance/Electronic microhub. DJ Mixes is just beginning to roll out, so fans should expect the experience to continue to evolve over time. Users on iOS and Android who have the Spotify app downloaded can listen for themselves.
Do you ever dance to your favorite DJ and wonder what track they’re mixing? You’re not alone. We’re always asking “track ID, anyone?” at sets. Now, with a new suite of playlists, Spotify is here to remove the guesswork fordance and electronic music fans.
Our new playlists, track IDs, are co-curated by DJs and Spotify’s editorial team and include songs DJs play in their sets. Each playlist will also include original tracks from the DJ. In addition to allowing DJs to connect with fans in an entirely new way, these playlists will help listeners discover songs they’ve previously heard live and want to find on Spotify.
“It’s no secret the tracks I play are usually unreleased from whichever sounds I’m into at the time,” explains Berlin-based DJDixon. “Right now with the usual game on hold, this playlist feels quite personal. Of course there are the floor fillers in there, some from prior to lockdown, some that never have been tested on a dance floor. But I’m more curious to gauge the listeners’ response to the underdogs.”
These playlists, which will be refreshed on a weekly basis, are co-curated by some of the world’s leading DJs, includingMK,Aluna,Black Coffee, andJayda G.
With dance and electronic spanning a wide range of styles and subgenres, these playlists allow fans to listen to music for every bpm, fromhouse andtechno toelectronica and chill. Discover new favorites with one of our track ID playlists playlist below.
If anyone has a soundtrack to their life, it’s Hannah Bronfman. The DJ, author, and founder of HBFIT has music playing around the clock, from prepping meals that go hand-in-hand with her lifestyle book to making one of her monthly playlists. And people are listening—her 5,000+ Spotify followers are a testament to that. The key to engaging that audience, she says, is in understanding the vibe people are looking for while infusing a fresh musical perspective.
We sat down with Hannah in the midst of the 2019 Cannes Lions Festival, where Hannah DJ’ed Spotify and Hulu’s kickoff party and joined our What’s Next panel. She offered us some firsthand insight into the relationship between music and prevailing millennial trends—and the creative process behind her monthly playlists.
You participated inSpotify’s Culture Next Trend Report. This week at Cannes, you talked about some of the learnings of the report on a panel. What did you walk away with after that conversation?
As a content creator and someone who’s very active in my community and very on-the-ground in pop culture, I think these trends are things that I’m definitely aware of. It was just really interesting to hear a different perspective on them, including from the brand side, too. It’s nice that brands are really thinking about these things.
The report found that millennials are listening to international music more than any other demographic. Have you seen that in your listenership? Is it something that you try to incorporate in your sets?
Absolutely. I think now more than ever, we are really seeing that global music is a huge trend. It’s never been easier to learn about new artists and new music. If I like one song [I can easily] discover new music and new artists that I wouldn’t otherwise understand or know or have exposure towards.
Do you have a particular discovery tool that’s your favorite? Release Radar, Discover Weekly?
I love Release Radar, I love Discover Weekly. I also love following some of my friends. And then I constantly use Shazam. I travel a lot… and when I’m out in places that are foreign to me and I hear a song that I like, I’ll Shazam it, and then I’ll put it on Spotify and listen.
So what are some of the favorite new artists or international tracks you’ve discovered that you’ve incorporated into your playlists or your sets?
I love playing DojaCat and Kehlani and then VanJess. They’re kind of newer artists that I’m really into, and I like the vibe of that music right now. And then I think more on the international side, Aroc! is amazing. I have a list that I just got from my friend who lives in Paris who’s been listening to a lot of music coming out of Nigeria. Which has these really authentic, amazing drumbeats, and it’s such a vibe. I think Afrikaans music is becoming a big trend in music right now as well.
You also had a chance to DJ the Spotify/Hulu party this week at Cannes. How was sharing the stage with Ciara?
It was awesome. It’s actually not the first time that I’ve opened for her. And I hope it’s not the last. She’s such an amazing inspiration. She’s unbelievably sexy and cool and just has such a vibe. Kind of an interesting crowd to play for, because I feel like everyone’s kind of like a music enthusiast, and so I was trying to play a little bit of Rosalia, some Lizzo, and then also get into some more mainstream stuff.
Is your playlist creation process the same as when you develop a DJ set?
No, actually. When I’m DJing, I very much read a crowd and go with my instinct. When I’m creating playlists, I really do try to create something different every single month. I like to use my playlists as a little bit of a place for discovery for people who are listening. Things that they might not necessarily hear on Top 40… so it’s a little bit more of a discovery than my DJ sets are.
In January you released your book Do What Feels Good, which outlines some healthy recipes. You spend your fair share of time in the kitchen preparing these healthy meals—what do you listen to?
Being in the kitchen is a very therapeutic moment of my day. I will sometimes put on reggae, or I’ll put on some jazz. Maybe if there’s a new album, I’ll put it on because that’s a really good, solid 45 minutes where I’m in the kitchen focusing on what I’m preparing.
How about podcasts—do you have a current favorite you’ve been binging?
I love Black Girls Texting. I love their conversations. I actually went on their podcast during my press tour for the book. And I just really fell in love with those girls.
You’ve been a guest on a lot of podcasts. Is there a difference in interviews via podcasting and than say an interview like this one?
1000%. Podcasts are single-handedly the most beneficial thing I did throughout my first tour. It’s incredible how addicted the audiences are to podcasts, and how each podcast is unique in how it’s talking about a topic. It’s also really cool to see the crossover in audiences since people are listening to multiple podcasts.
It’s more of a conversation. It’s not just so geared towards a specific answer or a specific routine. It’s very much conversational, and it’s about the interviewer and interviewee.
Don’t just take it from us – stream Hannah’s June playlist below.
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