Spotify removes 50M AI-generated tracks from recommendations
What's the story
Spotify has announced the removal of over 50 million songs from its user recommendations over the past year. The company considers these tracks as AI-generated slop or spam. The sheer number of purged tracks highlights the scale of the problem in the music streaming industry. The move comes as part of a broader effort to improve Spotify's recommendation system and promote more human-made music.
System improvements
Improving recommendations
Spotify has improved its recommendation system based on listener feedback and engagement.
The company found that tracks users skipped, ignored, or reported were often identified as slop or spam.
It now uses a combination of factors such as upload patterns, metadata, and third-party AI detection tools to weed out unwanted tracks and promote music created by human artists.
Policy update
AI Persona badge introduced
Spotify has reiterated its commitment to maintaining high editorial standards.
The company said, "Our editors hold the same standard and don't program content identified as slop or spam."
It has also introduced an "AI Persona" badge for artists who use an AI identity but don't represent a real person.
Despite these changes, Spotify still doesn't label all AI tracks.
Takedown tactics
Collaborations and partnerships
Spotify uses a mix of listener engagement, upload patterns, metadata, and third-party AI detection tools to identify potential AI-generated slop.
The company has also partnered with Universal Music Group and independent music publisher Believe to launch a tool for creating AI music remixes.
Other streaming platforms like YouTube Music and Deezer are taking stricter measures against AI music by labeling them or providing options to filter out unwanted tracks.