Here's How Spotify Is Now Helping Users Differentiate What Music Is and Isn't AI-Generated
Here's How Spotify Is Now Helping Users Differentiate What Music Is and Isn't AI-Generated
Staff AuthorThu, April 30, 2026 at 6:13 PM UTC
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Spotify's new badgeCredit: Spotify -
Spotify is introducing a Verified by Spotify badge to identify music created by real artists, not AI
Artists must meet criteria like consistent engagement, platform compliance, and real-world signals like concert dates and merch
The badge rollout comes as AI-generated music gains popularity, with some AI artists topping charts and streaming milestones
Spotify is taking new steps to help users recognize whether the music they're listening to is AI-generated.
The streaming platform announced a new badge called Verified by Spotify on Thursday, April 30, which will be given only to actual artists who meet specific criteria.
“Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists,” Spotify said in a press release. “In the AI era, it's more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to.”
The badges are meant to not only let listeners know whether the music comes from a real person, but also to offer more context about the artists and their songs for additional transparency.
Criteria artists must meet to earn a badge include consistent listener activity and engagement over time, good standing with Spotify's platform policies, and signals of a real artist represented in their profile, like concert dates, merch and linked social media accounts.
The badge will be rolled out in the coming weeks via a light green checkmark, and Spotify says it will also be expanding artist profiles to include highlights like career milestones, release activity and touring activity.
The AI-generated artist Breaking RustCredit: Breaking Rust/Instagram
“In a landscape that's complex and rapidly evolving, we know we won't get everything right from day one,” the press release says. “We've designed this new verification program thoughtfully with listeners and artists in mind, and we'll continue to evolve this program over time.”
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AI artists have been on the rise in recent months, and in September, Spotify announced it had removed more than 75 million spam tracks from its platform.
In November, a song called “Walk My Walk” by an AI artist called Breaking Rust was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart. The track has more than 23 million streams on Spotify as of April 30, and Breaking Rust — whose artist photo features a black-and-white portrait of a classically handsome cowboy — has 1.1 million monthly listeners on the platform.
Another AI artist, Xania Monet, made headlines last year as the first known AI-generated singer to appear on a Billboard radio airplay chart.
Monet's creator Telisha Nikki Jones said on CBS Mornings that she writes all the lyrics to the songs and produces them using the AI app Suno with guiding prompts like “female voice,” “soulful vocals” and “R&B style.”
"Xania is an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person," she said.
When host Gayle King pressed Jones on what she would say to other singers who have worked hard at their craft but are struggling to be heard, Jones defended her work with Monet.
"I wouldn't call it a shortcut, because I still put in the work," she said. "Anytime something new comes about and it challenges the norm and it challenges what we're used to, you're going to get strong reactions behind it. And I just feel that AI is the new era that we're in. I look at it as a tool, as an instrument. Utilize it!"
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
