Spotify will now start verifying artist pages.
In a new feature announced on Thursday, Spotify said that it will give a “Verified by Spotify” badge to artists who comply with Spotify’s policies, have consistent listeners, and have an “identifiable artist presence both on and off-platform.”
With the new initiative, Spotify aims to combat something that has become a little bit of a headache for the company and a big headache for listeners: AI-generated music.
The AI slopification of music really became a mainstream conversation point last year, when a rock band with a million Spotify streams called The Velvet Sundown turned out to be completely AI-generated. The incident caused outrage and some shame on social media among fans who were unable to tell the difference, but it just keeps happening.
Music streaming platform Deezer found in a survey late last year that an overwhelming majority of people cannot tell AI-generated music apart from songs written and performed by actual humans. That same survey had also found that 80% of listeners wanted AI-generated music clearly labeled, regardless of whether they were for or against it.
Spotify’s new initiative is the company following through on previous promises. Shortly after the Velvet Sundown incident last year, the company announced that it would help develop “a new industry standard for AI disclosures in music credits.”
“In the AI era, it’s more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to,” Spotify said on Thursday.
But the platform is also only trailing rivals in the industry. Deezer recently shared that 44% of its daily uploads were AI-generated songs, and it has been tagging AI-generated songs for a few months now. Apple Music also began optional labeling for AI-generated music in March, though its efficacy is uncertain because the distributor gets to decide whether to apply the label.
The light green checkmark icon and the “Verified by Spotify” badges will begin rolling out over the coming weeks. Spotify said it’s aiming to verify more than 99% of the artists that listeners actively search for first launch, so if you don’t see a badge on a super niche singer you like, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are an AI psy-op.
While some platforms have opted to ban AI music, Spotify’s initiative signals the potential acceptance of more AI-generated music on the platform. Spotify said that initially, “profiles that appear to primarily represent AI-generated or AI-persona artists” won’t be eligible for a badge, but things can change in the future.
“In today’s music landscape, the concept of artist authenticity is complex and quickly evolving, and we’ll continue to develop our approach over time,” Spotify said.
