- Spotify strengthens policies on AI-powered songs: more transparency and identity checks.
- Prohibition of voice impersonations and measures against profile mismatches.
- Anti-spam filter and mass removal of leads: 75 million deleted in one year.
- Support for the DDEX standard to indicate in credits how AI was used.
You open Spotify, find a track that catches your eye, and the name of the supposed artist doesn't ring a bell. The doubt is legitimate: Is it a real band or a song generated by artificial intelligence? With tools like Suno and Udio rapidly improving, the lines between the two are becoming blurred, and context is becoming increasingly important.
To tackle the problem, The platform has announced a package of policies and tools aimed at cleaning up the catalog and making it clear when AI has intervened.The plan seeks to protect creators, prevent listeners from being misled, and, at the same time, not close the door to responsible use of these technologies in AI-powered songs on Spotify.
What's changing on Spotify with AI-powered music?
The company frames its strategy on a simple idea: music has always been crossed by technology, from the multitrack tapes up to Auto-Tune. In fact, there are already bands created solely by AI, such as The Velvet Sundown. The difference is that AI is advancing at such a pace that it introduces uncertainty and abuse. which should be nipped in the bud.
Against that backdrop, Spotify says its priorities include strengthening transparency, protecting artists' identities, and ensuring a reliable experience for listeners., without demonizing the creativity that AI can bring when used judiciously.
Voice impersonations and clones: stricter rules
One of the sensitive points is vocal identity. From now on, Unauthorized voice clones will not be allowed, no deepfakes, or imitations that reproduce an artist without their explicit permission. Content that violates this rule will be removed.
In addition, the platform works with distributors to stop the calls profile mismatches, an increasingly common fraud that It consists of uploading songs to real artists' profiles without authorization.The goal is to detect these attacks before they're published so musicians can report them quickly.
Spotify has also fine-tuned the dispute process so that creators have clear resources and faster response timesVocal impersonation will only be accepted with the express authorization of the affected artist.
Stopping spam and AI garbage
The emergence of generators has multiplied abuse tactics: minimum runways designed to charge, duplicates with cosmetic changes and massive uploads that attempt to manipulate recommendations and royalties.
To combat this, Spotify will deploy a new antispam filter It will identify these types of practices and stop recommending the affected songs. The company maintains that this measure is key to protecting royalty distribution and the quality of musical discovery.
In the last year, the service claims to have deleted more than 75 million tracks considered spam or fraudulent, many of them linked to patterns linked to automated generation and attempts to inflate reproductions.
The deployment of the filter will be gradual and conservative, in order to avoid unfair penaltiesThe platform will incorporate new signals as more sophisticated methods of abuse emerge.
Transparency: DDEX tags and metadata
Another pillar of the plan is clarity in creditsSpotify collaborates with DDEX, the industry standards body, to implement a system that allows you to accurately indicate how the AI was used on each track: whether it affected the voice, instruments or production processes.
Others labels and distributors —at least a fortnight— have already committed to adopting this standard, which will be incorporated no official release dateThe idea is to offer nuanced disclosures, away from binary labels like “all AI” or “all human.”
Spotify plans to show this information to the listener within the credits so they know what's behind what they're listening to. The company has noted that the approach does not seek to punish creative use and responsible for these tools, and has not announced any changes to the calculation of royalties linked to this label.
A challenge of scale for the entire industry
La The avalanche of daily submissions to streaming services is huge and growing non-stop.With the emergence of generative AI startups like Suno and Udio, It is easier to produce and upload songs that look “catalog-ready”, which saturates algorithms and complicates discovery.
The sector reacts as a whole. Platforms, distributors and labels have promoted initiatives against fraud and manipulation., aware that these abuses distort payment distribution and impoverish the listening experience. There are also potential legal risks that require strengthening controls.
In parallel, digital distributors struggle with the balance between volume and quality: they accept large quantities of releases but must filter misleading content to maintain their reputation and protect legitimate artistsMore announcements and shared standards are expected in the coming months.
With this move, Spotify is trying to square the circle: toughen up foul play —impersonations and spam—, Giving visibility to the role of AI through DDEX and allowing technology to coexist with human creation without confusing anyoneEffectiveness will depend on the adoption of these changes by the entire chain—labels, distributors, and other services—and the ability of systems to keep up with new tactics. In the meantime, the goal is clear: maintain listener trust and ensure royalties go where they belong.
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