My Spotify Library Was Boring, So I Asked ChatGPT to Create New Playlists

I turn to ChatGPT for a variety of tasks, both personal and professional. But one capability I particularly like is the app store. By integrating third-party apps, the AI lets you tap into specific sites and services to enhance and personalize your requests.

For those of us who love music, that means ChatGPT can integrate Apple Music and Spotify to discover different types of music, get recommendations for songs based on mood or genre, and see playlists based on your requests.

Beyond just serving up suggestions, the AI can create an interactive playlist of songs that match your query. If you don’t subscribe to Apple Music, you can preview each song in the playlist. If you’re not a Spotify Premium user, you can get a static list of songs with no preview and playing capability. But if you are a subscriber to either service, you’re able to add the chosen music and playlists to your library where you can listen to them any time.

Apple Music and Spotify are accessible from the ChatGPT website, desktop app, and the iOS and Android apps. You can also add Apple Music and Spotify to the AI using free or paid ChatGPT accounts. Here’s how the feature works.

Apple Music

Let’s start with Apple Music. Browse to the ChatGPT website or fire up one of the apps. In the left sidebar, select Apps, then choose Apple Music. The next page describes what you can do with Apple Music once it’s integrated with ChatGPT. Select Connect to set up the integration. If you subscribe to Apple Music, select Continue to sign into your account and link them. You’ll also need to grant ChatGPT permission to access your media library and listening activity. Otherwise, choose Continue without account.

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Select Start chat or just return to the main page. At the prompt, start typing @Apple Music and then select it from the list of results. You may want to kick things off with a few basic queries to see how Apple Music responds. I’m a huge jazz buff, and Billie Holiday is my favorite artist, so I began by asking “What is the meaning behind Billie Holiday’s song ‘God Bless the Child.’” ChatGPT provided a brief analysis with the main point that the song is “about self-reliance, economic injustice, and the harsh reality that support often disappears when money is gone.”

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Next, you might want to get recommendations for artists, albums, or music in general. Here, I started a new chat, entered @Apple Music, and then asked “What kind of jazz was popular during the 1950s?” In response, ChatGPT described the evolution from bebop to modal jazz and offered highlights into each genre.

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As the next step, you can generate a playlist of recommended songs, artists, or albums. The AI should then generate a playable list followed by information on the selections. Here, I switched genres and asked ChatGPT to create a playlist of music from plays currently running on Broadway. In response, it generated a list of songs from Wicked, Hamilton, Chicago, and Little Shop of Horrors. It also included a track from Dear Evan Hansen, even though that musical closed in 2022. But that’s AI for you; it’s going to make mistakes. Still, the playlist was mostly on target.

For another example, I told it to generate a playlist of music to cheer up someone who’s feeling blue. In response, ChatGPT served up such songs as “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” by Jackie DeShannon, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin.

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(Credit: PCMag / OpenAI)

With no Apple Music subscription, the best you can do is play a short clip of each song. Just click the thumbnail for a particular tune, and you’ll hear around 90 seconds of it. If you do have an account, you can do more. Clicking the plus icon next to a specific tune adds it to your library.

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Check your Apple Music library on the web, and you should see the songs you added. Click one of them to play it in full. To sync the new songs on an iPhone or iPad, you’ll need to have Sync Library enabled under Settings > Apps > Music. Fire up the Music app and you’ll then see your new songs.

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To incorporate all the songs, you’re able to add them to your own Apple Music playlist. Click Create playlist in Apple Music at the bottom of the list. Look at your playlists in Apple Music on the web to see the new one. Select it to play them all. You can then sync the new music on your other devices and open the Music app to view and play the playlist.

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Spotify

Now, let’s check out Spotify. The process is very similar to Apple Music. In ChatGPT, select Apps and then choose Spotify > Connect > Continue. Select Agree to give ChatGPT permission to access Spotify.

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At the prompt, type @Spotify and then enter your query. Here, I asked ChatGPT to give me the history behind the song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Using the Spotify integration, the AI told me that it comes from the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland. The lyrics were originally much darker, but Garland asked the songwriter to change them to make them more bittersweet than despairing.

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Next, you can dive into generating a Spotify playlist. Here, I told ChatGPT to use Spotify to create a classical music playlist of Beethoven compositions that have been featured in motion pictures. The AI served up such selections as Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 as featured in Immortal Beloved and The Breakfast Club, Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, 2nd movement as featured in The King’s Speech, Fur Elise (Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor) as featured in Twilight and Immortal Beloved, and Ode to Joy (Symphony No. 9, 4th movement) as featured in Die Hard and A Clockwork Orange.

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The main limitation here is that you need a Spotify Premium account to be able to preview or play the songs; otherwise the playlist is static. If you do use Spotify Premium, you’re now able to add and play the playlist. For this one, I told ChatGPT to create a playlist of Irish folk songs that make you want to dance. The AI produced a list of songs that matched my request.

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Clicking on the name of the playlist or any song took me to the Spotify app or website where I could play all the songs one after another or choose a specific track.

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Both Apple Music and Spotify worked similarly. One difference is that Apple Music lets anyone preview a selected song, while Spotify requires a Premium subscription to play not just the playlist but any individual songs. With either service, going through ChatGPT to ask questions, request recommendations, or generate a playlist is a handy way to explore and listen to your favorite music.

About Our Expert

Lance Whitney

Contributor

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Experience

I’ve been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I’ve written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I’ve also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.

I’ve used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I’m well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I’m always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that’s become another key area for me.

My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it’s time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.

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