Spotify has always worked to improve its ability to recommend songs to you. And one avenue it is at least considering is using your speech and background noise to determine what music to recommend to you. The company filed a patent for this technology in 2018 and got it approved on January 12, 2021.
According to the patent, potential uses of the technology include extracting the "intonation, stress, rhythm, and the likes of units of speech" from the user's voice. The tech can also utilize speech recognition in audio recordings to identify metadata points like emotional state, gender, age, accent, and environment. Environment refers to whether you're alone in a room or with someone else.
When it determines what conditions you're in, then it can recommend appropriate songs.
Of course, we can't help but think about the implications of this kind of tech regarding privacy. And those are valid concerns. Spotify hasn't confirmed whether there's a plan to implement this technology and whether or not it already exists. Companies don't always use technology that they get patented.
In a statement released to Pitchfork, a Spotify spokesperson said, "Spotify has filed patent applications for hundreds of inventions, and we regularly file new applications. Some of these patents become part of future products, while others don't. Our ambition is to create the best audio experience out there, but we don't have any news to share at this time."
It does show us another way of how Spotify is thinking of recommending music it believes you'll enjoy.
Source: BBC