It feels like Spotify is drowning in AI-generated “slop” artists at the moment, as people use AI tools to create new bands and solo performers to create enormous amounts of soulless songs in order to make a profit. You might be okay with that, but it makes many people feel uncomfortable.
The sheer amount of them has made them hard to avoid though, as only research and a good amount of guessing could really identify which artists were AI and which were just obscure.
Spotify is helping to make that lot easier though, as it is introducing a new Verified badge that can tell you if an artist is real or not.
AI artists cannot apply for verification
It’s important to note the “Verified by Spotify” badge isn’t purely an anti-AI measure, but it does effectively function as one.
Verification will require artists to meet the following requirements:
- They must have a consistent history of activity, both from themselves and listeners.
- They must adhere to Spotify’s policies.
- They must have proven to Spotify that they are a real person/people.
If all three requirements are met, then they will be granted a checkmark badge next to their name.
As you can probably tell, this cuts AI-generated artists out of the equation entirely, and that’s purposeful. Spotify has clarified that AI-generated artists or bands are not currently allowed to apply for verification.
At first glance, it seems that this will be a good way to avoid AI songs and artists on Spotify, but it’s still clear that there’s a lot of work needed here before the job can be considered done.
Spotify needs to do more — but will it?
If Spotify is serious about separating out AI slop from genuine human effort, then this can only be the start.
The Verified badge is a good place to build on. Spotify could allow users to only hear Verified artists when listening to playlists and new music. This doesn’t seem to be available yet, but it’s an obvious place to go.
However, there’s a worrying element to this. Spotify made a mention that it would “continue to develop our approach over time”, which could hint that it might decide to let AI artists verify in the future.
If Spotify makes that decision, it’ll likely be because AI music is so widespread that avoiding it is largely impossible. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get that far.
