Music fans who are seeking to pin down AI artists versus human creatives on Spotify will soon have a new tool at their disposal. On Tuesday, the music streamer shared that it’s adding an “AI Persona” label to the platform as another way to help fans — and artists — identify AI creators. The badge will start appearing in profiles, songs, search results and in an artist’s About section in mid-September.
If you’re worried about those tracks popping up in your finely tuned algorithm, don’t. Spotify explained that AI Personas will automatically be excluded from your personalized recommendations by default, unless you choose to follow the AI Personas account or a specific AI music profile. How will the streamer pinpoint which accounts are AI? Starting Aug. 11, accounts can self-report via Spotify for Artists, but Spotify will also conduct its own reviews and tag profiles with the AI Persona label. According to the streamer, it will check “artist profiles and identify those whose public identity — the identity an artist presents on their profile, including name and imagery — appears to represent photorealistic AI-generated identities.” To take it a step further, when you, as a listener, click the badge, you’ll be able to see whether the artist disclosed their AI identity themselves or if Spotify classified them as an AI artist.
During the coming months, the streamer will enable listeners to flag suspected AI profiles. Artists can appeal if they think they’ve been incorrectly designated as AI. The company clarified that the move is about verifying an artist’s authentic identity, not about how the music was made.
It’s one of the latest ways Spotify is aiming to help listeners distinguish between AI and human artists. While the streaming service has a range of AI tools that let subscribers curate their listening experience, it’s also launched artist profile protection, verification badges and policies to crack down on deepfakes.