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Anna's Archive escalates: 2.8 million Spotify tracks published
by Michelle Brändle
Spotify: With a hook against AI music
5/5/2026
Translation: machine translated
Spotify introduces a green tick. This is to show whether the music was actually made by a human.
When you're on Spotify, you should be able to recognise more quickly in future whether there is a real person behind an artist profile. Or, to put it more precisely, whether a person produced the music themselves or just pressed a button on Suno and co. The streaming service has introduced a new label for this purpose: «Verified by Spotify». A light green tick indicates that a profile has been classified as «authentic». This is the company's response to a development that you may have already noticed yourself: More and more music is being created with the help of artificial intelligence (or entirely by artificial intelligence) and is being uploaded en masse to platforms.
How does Spotify verify the artists?
As an artist, you don't simply receive the new badge in exchange for payment, as is sometimes the case with social media platforms. Spotify checks various criteria. These include concert appearances, merchandising offers or linked social media profiles. A certain level of activity on the platform also plays a role. Artists must have a continuous audience and adhere to the service's rules. There are no plans for identity checks using ID or similar. Instead, the service evaluates the «overall image of an artist profile».
Why and why now?
In the last few months, the number of AI-generated songs has increased significantly. No wonder: anyone and everyone can have music generated on numerous platforms at the touch of a button with just a few prompts. In just a few minutes and sometimes in astonishing quality. As a result, streaming platforms are confronted with a flood of such content. This also makes sense: this is how money can be earned. What's more, there are still no effective legal measures in many countries that could curb this.
What Spotify is doing now
At the start, verification is clearly aimed at artists who are considered «genuine». Spotify is initially excluding profiles that mainly represent AI-generated music or artificial personas. At the same time, the company emphasises that the «definition of authenticity can evolve». The boundaries between human creativity and AI support are fluid.
According to Spotify, however, more than 99 per cent of frequently searched artists will receive such a badge from the outset. This includes many independent acts, not just big names from major labels. In addition to the tick, Spotify is also testing additional functions: For example, areas are planned that bundle important information such as releases, tour dates or other activities. However, it may take some time before this is rolled out across the board.
Of course, the new system does not solve all problems. For example, you currently have no way of filtering only verified artists. It also remains unclear how Spotify and co. will deal with completely AI-generated music in the long term - which is unlikely to change in the short term given the unclear legal situation.
Header image: Shutterstock
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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