Treasure Map: AJ (AI party DJ)

I love surprises as much as anyone, but I'm also really bad at keeping them! Since I'm still building a crew and meeting a lot of people, I think it's okay to share this "Treasure Map" for the first planned BadPirate Garage product, "AJ."

Since this is the initial product, I want it to meet a broad range of requirements, including:

1. Broad user appeal
2. Daily use application
3. Showcase a clean and and simple design
4. Combine product knowledge and familiarity with power and limitations of AI
5. Low server cost to run and launch
6. Able to get to a Beta release within 6 months

The idea came to me while I was at work in a corporate office. Someone asked if we should play some music. Everyone wanted music, but nobody wanted to DJ, because:

1. It felt like a lot of work
2. Fear of Judgement

After doing some research, it turns out that there are no good "Jukebox" apps for playing music in a party. And the idea for AJ began to surface.

Your personal DJ

The first version of AJ is planned as a personal AI powered DJ for use with your existing Apple Music Subscription from iOS Device. Users can prompt AJ to start a "Party" by using voice commands or typing instructions. The prompts can be as broad as:

Music good to write code to

To something much more specific, or even involving very specific general knowledge:

Play songs that I might have heard on the Colorado Radio Station 'KBPI' in the year 2001

AJ will use a language model (like ChatGPT) on the backend to generate a dynamic playlist and start playing music on your device:

Parties not Playlists

Traditional music apps like Spotify, Apple Music, and algorithm-driven platforms like Pandora, produce static playlists. AJ, however, will react to real-time feedback and dynamically update the upcoming songs, making the party experience more interactive.

Make it a real party

Current plan is that custom party of one music personalization is useful enough to release, and so that will be the first functionality released with AJ. However, a party of one can be a bit lonely.Post-launch, AJ will be updated to allow the host to share their music with others in the same space via Apple TV, AirPlay, etc. Others will be able to join and provide feedback to the DJ, influencing upcoming songs with their own personal tastes.

After scanning a QR code or following a shared link, users will be taken to a website similar to what the host sees. They can provide feedback on upcoming songs, make requests, and participate in shaping the playlist.

The DJ would take the party hosts instructions into consideration first and foremost, but would endeavor to include the tastes of other party guests.

The example below shows what this would look like from a hosts perspective:

1. I create a release party for AJ in the app
2. I share the party to my TV using AirPlay, and put a QR code up
3. My partner, Tegan, could scan the code with her phone. AJ, already knowing her taste in music (90's and 2000's Alternative, but no Nirvana), would update the playlist to include some songs she’d enjoy that fit the overall theme.

Feedback Welcome

Have suggestions? Feedback? Leave a comment or send me a message. If you're interested in receiving updates when the Beta is available or helping to spread the word...

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