Spotify is drawing a line in the sand in the battle against an onslaught of AI “artists.”
The music streamer said Tuesday it will label accounts that produce AI-generated music starting in mid-September. Spotify will slap an “AI Persona” label on profiles that appear to be AI bots.
The badges will appear on “artist” profiles as they appear in search and other areas on the app — and such profiles will be excluded from the company’s prized algorithmic recommendations for users, Spotify said.
The Daniel Ek-led company will allow accounts to proactively disclose if a profile is an AI persona. For those that aren’t forthcoming, the platform’s human moderators will label them after a review using Spotify’s own AI tools.
“True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity,” Spotify said Tuesday. “In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are. That’s more essential than ever in the age of generative AI.”
The change is part of an effort to combat a wave of annoying AI-generated accounts that have overrun the streamer in recent years.
In April, Spotify added a badge for human artists to note they’ve been “Verified by Spotify,” which also followed a bevvy of new tools to let listeners see how an artist used AI in their song while also getting some insight at how each credited artist contributed to a track.
“Listeners have been clear in telling us that they don’t like seeing an artist profile that seems human, only to find out that the persona is AI-generated,” the company added. “The badge signals to listeners that an artist’s identity may be AI-generated and does not represent a real person.”
Ironically, while the streamer has also taken steps against AI artists by banning unauthorized vocal impersonations and filtering out mass-uploaded spam, it’s also integrated the tech into the platform.
Last month, Spotify introduced a ChatGPT-like feature that allows users to engage with a conversational AI assistant to help figure out what they want to listen to.
It also launched an “AI DJ” and, through a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, the ability for fans to remix or cover select songs using AI, according to The Verge.
The company is also working with UMG and other music companies, including Warner Music Group and Sony, to develop “responsible AI products.”