Spotify Cracks Down on AI-Generated Artists

Spotify will introduce an 'AI Persona' badge to label artist profiles that are AI-generated, starting mid-September. The move aims to increase transparency and trust in the authenticity of music on the platform. Artists can begin voluntarily disclosing whether their profile is an AI Persona starting August 11th.

The 'AI Persona' badge will be applied to artist profiles that represent photorealistic AI-generated identities, including name and imagery. Spotify will review artist profiles that meet a certain audience threshold and notify them of the label. Artists can appeal the label if they think it's been incorrectly applied.

Music from AI Personas will be excluded from personalized recommendations by default, unless a user follows an AI Persona. This move is part of Spotify's effort to strengthen policies against AI 'bad actors' and increase transparency about how music on its platform is made.

The issue of AI-generated content overwhelming streaming catalogues has been a growing concern in the music industry. In fact, Deezer estimated that 44% of all new songs uploaded to their database were created by AI. Spotify has previously removed over 75 million spammy tracks from its platform in the past year and has introduced features such as AI Credits and SongDNA to rely on artists to voluntarily disclose the use of AI.

## Why it matters The introduction of the 'AI Persona' badge is a significant step towards increasing transparency and trust in the music streaming industry. Listeners have been clear in telling Spotify that they don't like seeing an artist profile that seems human, only to find out that the persona is AI-generated. By labeling AI Personas, Spotify is giving listeners more control over the music they listen to and helping to maintain the authenticity of the platform.

Spotify's 'Verified by Spotify' badge, launched in April, signals that a profile has been reviewed and meets the company's authenticity standard. The 'AI Persona' badge is a complementary measure to help listeners distinguish between real and AI-generated artists. As the music industry continues to evolve with the use of AI, Spotify's efforts to increase transparency and trust will be crucial in maintaining the integrity of the platform.