Spotify is introducing a ‘Verified’ badge to help users identify when artists on its platform are human, not AI-generated.
The world’s most-used music streaming service said the ‘Verified by Spotify’ text and green checkmark icon would appear next to artist names when they meet “defined standards demonstrating authenticity”.
This could include having linked social accounts on their artist profile, consistent listener activity or other “signals of a real artist behind the profile,” the company said, such as merchandise or concert dates.
In its blog post, Spotify said “more than 99%” of the artists listeners actively search for will be verified, representing “hundreds of thousands of artists”.
It said the process would prioritise acts with “important contributions to music culture and history”, rather than “content farms,” with the platform rolling out verification and badges over the coming weeks.
With Spotify targeting AI-generated music and personas, some on social media have pointed out a verified account would only prove an artist was human, not that the music was made without utilising AI.
Ed Newton-Rex, a campaigner for creators’ rights and former AI executive, said Spotify’s approach could “punish real human artists who don’t have some of the markers the verification is based on,” like touring or selling merchandise.
Instead, he suggests Spotify could be “automatically labelling any AI-generated music” as some other streaming services do.
