đź“ť Editor’s Note: Before you dive into today’s issue…
Landon and I just wrapped up a special roundtable event on a “second wave” of AI investments that are ready to pop. We’re talking 100x the potential of any gains we’ve witnessed so far… which is why we had to get this in your hands immediately. Watch this now… and start building the kind of wealth that could change your life. You can thank me later.
Apple (AAPL) has always been ahead of the curve in the music industry, releasing its first-gen iPod 20 years ago – a heavy silver device that could fit 1,000 songs in the palm of your hand, the most of any other MP3 player on the market at that time.
Fast forward to today, and you can now access over 100 million songs through Apple Music – no bulky hardware required.
And the next evolution in music is already underway with artificial intelligence (AI).
AI is enabling algorithmically generated music, curated perfectly to sync with our moods, activities, or own playlists. 
But behemoths don’t always win – and when it comes to AI-powered listening, a smaller, more niche player is starting to beat Apple at its own game.
Each time this Apple competitor rolls out a new AI-powered feature, consumer buzz rockets off the charts.
It’s cracked a code that Apple hasn’t even figured out yet.
And we’re still right at the beginning of the AI adoption curve…
Which means, if you missed out on the AI rally earlier this year, it’s not too late to ride the next wave.
Because we’ve got your ticket to the next inevitable run up right here: Spotify (SPOT).
How Spotify Is Harnessing the Power of AI
Breaking Language Barriers with AI-Powered Podcasts
Back in 1980, just one in 10 people in the U.S. spoke a language other than English. Fast forward to 2019, and that number had tripled to one in five, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Spotify is making sure those folks can tune into its podcast library – and ultimately, spend money on its service – with a new AI-powered Voice Translation.
With this Voice Translation pilot, which launched in September, it’s not about translating podcasts word-for-word with some robotic-sounding voiceover.
Think about why the “The Joe Rogan Experience” is the number-one podcast in America.
It’s about the unique essence and style of the podcaster on the other end.
And Spotify is looking to AI to help capture that for the 67.8 million Americans who speak a non-English language.
By collaborating with renowned podcasters and leveraging OpenAI’s voice generation tech, Spotify offers listeners a genuine experience that transcends traditional dubbing methods.
Imagine listening to your favorite podcast in Spanish, French, or German without losing the original podcaster’s unique flair.
Less than two weeks into the launch, it’s too early to tell how this new feature will impact Spotify’s bottom line. Only a handful of episodes are available so far.
But the potential? Like @meda_kreiger said – it could be a game-changer.
Revolutionizing Audio Ads with AI
In the world of advertising, personalization is the key to success.
No more blindly placing generic ads and hoping they’ll catch a buyer. It doesn’t work anymore.
But creating ads that feel “natural” or personalized within multiple different contexts is a huge, time-consuming task for marketers.
Spotify wants to make it easier and more cost-effective for advertisers to leverage its platform – and pour money into its ad-supported tier bucket – with AI-generated audio ads.
CEO Daniel Ek explained it like this: “By using generative AI and our tools here… instead of having one ad, you can imagine having thousands and tested across the Spotify networks, things that you could easily do today using text but you haven’t been able to do over video or in audio.”
With the potential to produce thousands of ad variations, Spotify’s AI-driven approach could redefine audio advertising.
DJ X, Your Personal AI Music Guide
Ever wished for a DJ that just gets you? Enter Spotify’s AI-powered DJ named Xavier (or “X” for short), an AI marvel that queues up personalized tracks tailored to your tastes, with real-sounding – and oddly insightful – voice commentary peppered in between.
It’s a truly immersive experience that’s worth checking out if you haven’t already.
When the feature first launched in late February, we saw “spotify dj” searches surge through the roof.
Purchase Intent – aka consumers talking about spending real money with Spotify – spiked too.
Since its initial roll-out, Spotify has been rolling out DJ X to Spotify Premium customers around the world. As of August, listeners in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand can enjoy DJ X’s ultra-curated setlists and raspy-cool voice with the rest of us.
Users are loving it, with many dedicating a significant chunk of their listening time to this feature.
Apple quietly rolled out its own AI-powered listening feature, ”Discovery Station,” in August… with lackluster results. The new offering tailors your listening experience but doesn’t go so far as to introduce new music based on your preferences.
Yet Spotify seems to have cracked the code – proving that behemoths don’t always win.
Delivering the Future of Audiobooks with AI Narration
Producing an audiobook with a human voice can take weeks and cost publishers thousands of dollars.
But Spotify’s text-to-speech synthesis system can deliver lifelike speech, complete with emotions and varied tones – making it a perfect fit for natural-sounding audiobook narration.
We know demand for audiobooks is on the rise. The global market is on track to reach $35 billion by 2030 after a decade of double-digit percentage growth.
And when Spotify first launched its library in 2022, LikeFolio recorded a massive consumer reaction…
This could very well be Spotify’s ticket to dominating the audiobook market, giving competitors like Apple a run for their money.
SPOT: The LikeFolio Perspective
Spotify is not just making noise with AI.
It’s leading the pack in the LikeFolio universe in terms of mention volume and overall levels of web traffic. Check out how Spotify stacks up against competitors like Apple Music, Sirius XM Radio, and Pandora Radio:
Spotify handily dominates those players with 69.5% of website volume.
In addition, mentions continue to grow on a year-over-year basis, supporting the stock’s run higher in 2023.
As of the second quarter, 220 million folks were shelling out for a Spotify Premium subscription, which is where the company generates the bulk of its revenue.
Now, those customers will get even more value from that $10.99/month subscription – with Spotify announcing just this week that Premium subscribers in the U.K. and Australia can access over 150,000 audiobooks at no additional cost.
Don’t worry – we listeners in the U.S. will get the same access later this year.
With its consumer-centric approach and technological advancements, we believe Spotify’s growth trajectory is just getting started.
And this AI-driven innovation could be the tune that keeps its stock dancing to new highs.
But Spotify’s just the start: Let me take you behind LikeFolio’s velvet rope to show you what Landon and I are calling the “second wave” of AI investing, with undercover stocks set to blow Nvidia’s gains out of the water.
Until next time,
Andy Swan
Founder, LikeFolio