Spotify will label AI artists and avoid recommending them

As AI-generated songs top charts and flood social media, Spotify wants its users to know when they’re listening to real people.

Starting in September, Spotify will affix labels to the profiles of artists whose identities it believes were most likely generated by artificial intelligence, the streaming service announced Tuesday. Users behind AI-generated artists will also be able to identify those artists as such.

Once labeled, the profiles will be excluded from the company’s editorial and algorithmic recommendations, Spotify said.

“While we believe all artists have creative choice in determining how they present themselves,” the company said in a news release, “Spotify’s programming is focused on elevating music from authentic artists building careers in music.”

The announcement comes a month after a consortium of music industry groups, including the Recording Academy and the Recording Industry Association of America, called for labels on songs that had been made with some degree of AI. The groups cited fans’ desire for transparency when AI has been involved in making music.

Songs by AI-generated acts with names like the Velvet Sundown and Breaking Rust have amassed millions of streams on Spotify, with many listeners seemingly unaware of the music’s origins. (Some listeners have said they are unbothered by AI’s role in music creation.)

Spotify’s new label will read “AI Persona” and be placed near an artist’s name. Laura Batey, a spokesperson for Spotify, said the company’s review process would be twofold: an automated screening followed by a check from the company’s human moderators.

The review will look primarily at users’ names and their profile pictures, Batey said, adding that the feature is intended to focus on artists’ identities rather than their songs. Spotify allows AI-generated music to be uploaded to its platform, provided it does not violate the company’s rules governing spam or fraud.

In its news release, Spotify said the “AI Persona” label would also appear in its app’s search function and on playlists that include those songs. Listeners will be able to tell if artists disclosed the information themselves or if the label originated from Spotify. Profiles that Spotify flags will have a chance to appeal the designation.

The streaming platform also said that in the coming months, it will allow users to report artist profiles that they believe were generated by AI. The details of that process were not disclosed.

While Spotify listeners have expressed frustration about being recommended AI-generated music in the app, the company said in its news release: “We tune our algorithms to highlight authentic human artists and, based on available signals, strive to not include spam, slop or low-effort content in our recommendations.”

This year, Spotify rolled out its AI Credits feature, allowing artists to disclose how they had used AI in making their songs. The company has also incorporated AI technology into its app through a personalized DJ feature and remix tool.