Using ChatGPT to Generate Playlists

Trying out the musical chops of AI engines. For those new to the space, the company OpenAI made a big splash with ChatGPT in making a conversational chat engine. Microsoft has been a partner and doubled down with a massive investment. OpenAI just release GPT 4.0 which Microsoft is already using (in its Bing search engine). The core ChatGPT product does not have access to the internet prior to its 2021 training, the Microsoft engine searches the current web.

My Prompt:
You are a music influencer. You like current music but also music from the 80’s like U2, Depeche Mode, New Order. You like dance remixes. Make a playlist of 20 songs that can be imported into Tidal through soundiiz

Results from ChatGPT4
As a music influencer with a passion for both current music and classic 80’s tunes, I’ve curated a playlist of 20 songs that seamlessly blend these genres with some dance remixes. Enjoy this playlist on Tidal by importing it through Soundiiz!

  1. U2 - “With or Without You” (Daniel Lanois & Billy Steinberg Remix)
  2. Depeche Mode - “Enjoy the Silence” (Mike Shinoda Reinterpreted Mix)
  3. New Order - “Bizarre Love Triangle” (Shep Pettibone Extended Dance Mix)
  4. Dua Lipa - “Don’t Start Now” (Purple Disco Machine Remix)
  5. Tame Impala - “The Less I Know the Better” (GUM Remix)
  6. The Weeknd - “Blinding Lights” (Major Lazer Remix)
  7. Robyn - “Dancing On My Own” (Fred Falke Remix)
  8. Tears for Fears - “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (Just A Gent Remix)
  9. David Bowie - “Let’s Dance” (Nile Rodgers’ String Version)
  10. Pet Shop Boys - “West End Girls” (Grum Remix)
  11. A-ha - “Take On Me” (Kygo Remix)
  12. The Cure - “Close to Me” (Closer Mix)
  13. Billie Eilish - “Bad Guy” (Tiesto’s Big Room Remix)
  14. The Smiths - “This Charming Man” (Luis Leon Bootleg)
  15. INXS - “Need You Tonight” (Mendel Edit)
  16. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - “Latch” (Oliver Heldens Remix)
  17. Doja Cat - “Say So” (Jax Jones Midnight Snack Remix)
  18. RÜFÜS DU SOL - “Innerbloom” (Sasha Remix)
  19. Sofi Tukker - “Drinkee” (Vintage Culture & Slow Motion! Remix)
  20. M83 - “Midnight City” (Eric Prydz Private Remix)

Microsoft Bing (using ChatGPT4)

  • Cary August - Relax (Limited 80’s Club Remix Edit)
  • Foundation - Somebody’s Watching Me (Studio 54 Remix Edit)
  • DJ Brian Howe - Major Tom (Peter S. Remix Edit)
  • De Lorean - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) [Original Electro Pop Remix]
  • Fab - Ride Like the Wind (Palladium Club House Remix)
  • Cardenia - Funkytown (Original Cherry Lips Club Remix)
  • Cary August - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) [Radio Edit]
  • Donna M. - Holiday (Original Club Edit Version)
  • Ministry of Funk - 1999 (80’s Remix Edit)
  • Foundation - Fresh (feat. Alex Twister) [Bennassi Myspace Mashup Remix]
  • Cary August - Bizarre Love Triangle (Oscar Salguero Ibiza Club Edit)
  • Future Shock feat. Marion - Big In Japan (Techno Bootleg Remix)
  • Mysteria feat. Martine - Neverending Story (Frankfurt’s Progressive Techno Remix)
  • DJ Cobra - Axel F. (Crazy Original Frog’s Techno Remix)
  • Cary August - Don’t You (Forget About Me) [Breakfast Club’s Video Remix Edit]
  • New Life Generation - I Like Chopin (12" Extended Maxi Version)

I think Bing gave a wider range of songs but 7 did not import. ChatGPT was more straightforward song selection with focus on remixes, all but 1 imported. For both, many of the soundiiz matches were NOT the named remixes.

If the AI could run against current Tidal/Qobuz holdings, it would be better. Hint, hint @danny

If anyone wants me to run a prompt and you don’t have access, happy to do so.

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Nice idea. I’ll try. Thanks
And for the info about Bing, I did not know

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This is cool!

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Turns out almost none of these mixes are on Tidal, I will import into Spotify and see how it does! This was only my first attempt at generating a playlist, lots of possibilities!

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Lots of potential scope here…

I had a play with doing something similar with the earlier GPT3 model.

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I have great hopes for something like this. I make playlist that blend together musically, or genre-wise, but also thematically. I have a bunch of playlists like “Love Lost”, “Love Gained”, “Drinking to Forget”, etc where the content of the songs are the binding glue of the playlist.

I’d love to specify a list of genres, or artists etc, and a topic and have a playlist generated. I’d also love to do this with an AI that has read my library and listening history so it knows what I’m into.

Sheldon

Yes! Sorry I missed that post! One of the mods can merge threads if they want!

A way around the cost is for the user to enter a ChatGPT API key, that puts the cost on the end user. Not as turnkey obviously.

Not sure if it’s been discussed yet, but Plex have built this functionality into PlexAmp — under the moniker of ‘Sonic Sage’ — and got round the cost issues by asking users to add their personal OpenAI API key.

That doesn’t feel like a particular user friendly or long term solution, but it’s a great minimal viable product and shows how this sort of natural language discover will likely become a de-facto feature of discover tools / interfaces of all kinds — not just music.

Although I raised the issue of API costs in my previous post, at $0.03 (3 cents) per 1000 words/tokens and the average prompt being around 100 words/token, so 0.3 cents per query, Roon could almost certainly provide a fairly generous monthly allowance to each user without breaking the bank. I expect after the initial excitement most users will use no more than a couple of dozen queries a day, if that.

To some extent I expect absorbing these kinds of costs is going to part of doing business and competing with the competition, as I’d argue it’s almost a given that this kind of text prompt discovery will be built into every streaming services’ native interface within a few years.

@RobOK , what prompt would you try to create a TIDAL-importable playlist of, say, the top 100 songs for 1983 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart? Good experiment! Thanks. JCR

I was messing around with this ChatGPT thingy today and came up with this…

Playlist name: New Roots Rockers
Playlist description: A selection of songs that blend reggae, rock, and alternative influences, inspired by “N.R.A.” by Iration, a track from their 2006 debut EP New Roots.

Playlist songs:

  • “N.R.A.” by Iration (2006)
  • “Roots Rock Reggae” by Bob Marley & The Wailers (1976)
  • “Santeria” by Sublime (1996)
  • “Lay Me Down” by The Dirty Heads feat. Rome Ramirez (2010)
  • “Amber” by 311 (2001)
  • “Red Red Wine” by UB40 (1983)
  • “Badfish” by Sublime (1992)
  • “Time Bomb” by Iration (2010)
  • “Jamming” by Bob Marley & The Wailers (1977)
  • “Love Is My Religion” by Ziggy Marley (2006)
  • “What I Got” by Sublime (1996)
  • “Down Under” by Men At Work (1981)
  • “Come Around” by Collie Buddz (2007)
  • “Is This Love” by Bob Marley & The Wailers (1978)
  • “All Mixed Up” by 311 (1995)
  • “The Impression That I Get” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (1997)
  • “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley & The Wailers (1974)
  • “Smoke Two Joints” by Sublime (1992)
  • “Falling” by Iration (2008)
  • “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley & The Wailers (1977)

Brief explanations for some of the song choices:

  • “Roots Rock Reggae” by Bob Marley & The Wailers: This song is a classic example of roots reggae, a subgenre that emerged in the 1970s and focused on social and political issues, as well as Rastafarian culture and spirituality. Bob Marley was one of the most influential and popular roots reggae artists, and this song celebrates the power and joy of reggae music.
  • “Santeria” by Sublime: Sublime was an American band that fused reggae, ska, punk, and hip hop elements in their music. They were one of the pioneers of the third wave ska movement in the 1990s, which revived the popularity of ska music in the US. “Santeria” is one of their most successful and well-known songs, featuring a catchy melody and lyrics about a jealous ex-lover.
  • “Lay Me Down” by The Dirty Heads feat. Rome Ramirez: The Dirty Heads are another American band that incorporates reggae, rock, and rap influences in their sound. They collaborated with Rome Ramirez, the lead singer of Sublime with Rome, a band that formed after the death of Sublime’s original frontman Bradley Nowell. “Lay Me Down” is a breezy and upbeat song about escaping to Mexico with a lover.
  • “Red Red Wine” by UB40: UB40 is a British reggae and pop band that achieved international fame in the 1980s and 1990s. They are known for covering songs from various genres and giving them a reggae twist. “Red Red Wine” is a cover of a Neil Diamond song from 1967, which UB40 transformed into a reggae anthem with a prominent keyboard riff and a toast (a Jamaican style of rapping) by Astro, one of the band members.
  • “Time Bomb” by Iration: Iration is a Hawaiian-based band that consists of members who have roots in Hawaii or California. They describe their music as sunshine reggae, which combines reggae, rock, pop, and island sounds. “Time Bomb” is the title track from their second album, which showcases their energetic and catchy style.

Additional information to enhance the listener’s experience:

  • The title of Iration’s song “N.R.A.” stands for No Reason At All, which is also the name of their fan club. The song is about living life to the fullest and not worrying about what others think.
  • The term roots rockers was coined by Bob Marley in his song “Roots Rock Reggae”, which also features a guest appearance by American guitarist Donald Kinsey. Kinsey played with several reggae artists, including Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who were former members of The Wailers along with Bob Marley.
  • Sublime’s song “Santeria” references the Afro-Cuban religion of the same name, which combines elements of Catholicism and Yoruba beliefs. The song also mentions a “Heina”, which is a slang term for a girlfriend derived from the Spanish word “reina”, meaning queen.
  • The Dirty Heads’ song “Lay Me Down” was inspired by the movie Desperado, starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. The song’s music video pays homage to the film, featuring the band members as outlaws on the run from a corrupt sheriff.
  • UB40’s song “Red Red Wine” was originally recorded in a faster tempo, but the band slowed it down after hearing a Jamaican cover version by Tony Tribe. The song became a hit in the US after a DJ in Phoenix, Arizona, started playing it in 1988, four years after its initial release. The band then re-released the song with a new music video and added a saxophone solo.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 6/6/2023(1) N.R.A. | Iration. N.R.A. | Iration Accessed 6/6/2023.
(2) N.R.A - song and lyrics by Iration | Spotify. N.R.A - song and lyrics by Iration | Spotify Accessed 6/6/2023.
(3) Stream N.R.A. by Iration | Listen online for free on SoundCloud. Stream N.R.A. by Iration | Listen online for free on SoundCloud Accessed 6/6/2023.

I am pretty fkin amazed.

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Not sure if you’re a Soundiiz customer but they’ve got an AI feature where you can describe what you want and it will create playlists for you in Tidal/Qobuz automatically. Played around with it a bit and was pretty amazing.

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Everyone has an AI feature!! I think in some time the playlist tools evolve where you give it one playlist and ask for 100 more. Even better if guided by some user controls (sliders) to adjust popular vs obscure, new vs timeless, vocals vs rhythm focus. An “agent” to guide your music discovery.

I like the idea above of narrative with songs to say why selected and interesting facts. All needs to be built into an interface- AI doesn’t need to be restricted to chat. The advanced AI interfaces are more complex and domain specific. I hope @danny builds this in Roon!