Spotify has taken more than 50 million tracks it identified as “slop and spam” out of its recommendations in 2026, while removing more than 75 million spam tracks from its platform for serious or repeated violations of its rules. The company has also updated its recommendation systems to reduce the visibility of low-quality and deceptive uploads, including those generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
The company said in a blog post on October 20, 2026, that it had spent the past year developing measures to address spam, impersonation and deception involving AI-generated music.
How Spotify identifies AI-generated slop and spam: The company said it reviewed tracks that listeners frequently skipped, ignored or indicated they did not want to hear. It found that these tracks consistently matched content it had identified as slop or spam. Over the past six months, the company has updated its recommendation system to reduce the visibility of such tracks. Its editorial teams also do not programme content identified as slop or spam.
Spotify combines several signals to identify potentially problematic uploads, rather than relying on a single AI detector. These include
- listener engagement and feedback,
- upload patterns,
- metadata
- information from multiple third-party AI detection tools.
The company acknowledged that AI detection technology has limitations and that identifying AI-generated music will become harder as generative AI develops.
Its systems also look for tactics such as mass uploads, duplicate tracks, search engine optimisation (SEO) manipulation, spam-driven playlist networks and artificially short tracks. Spotify said it would continue updating its systems as uploaders change their tactics.
Tools Spotify has introduced over the past year:
- AI Credits: Introduced in April 2026, these allow artists to disclose which parts of a track, including instruments and creative roles, involved AI. Spotify said artists were submitting tens of thousands of AI Credits daily. Listeners can view them in Song Credits through the Now Playing screen on mobile.
- Verified by Spotify: More than 300,000 artists have received the verification badge, according to the company. They account for more than 99% of artists that listeners search for on the platform, and more than 70% are independent artists. The badge indicates that an identifiable person is behind an artist profile.
- AI Persona badges: Introduced in August 2026, these labels identify artists whose identities Spotify believes are AI-generated. Such profiles are excluded from editorial and algorithmic recommendations by default, subject to exceptions such as listeners following them.
- Artist Profile Protection: The tool allows artists to review releases listing them as an artist before those releases appear on their Spotify profiles. Thousands of artists participated in its beta, with wider availability planned by the end of 2026.
- Royalty eligibility: Spotify’s 1,000-stream threshold, introduced in 2024, determines whether a track qualifies for recorded-music royalties under its policy. Spotify said tracks with indicators suggesting a high probability of AI generation are 10 times more likely than other tracks to fall below the threshold.
Spotify has no mandatory AI track labels: Spotify’s AI Credits allow artists to disclose how they used AI in a track, but the company has not made disclosure mandatory for all music that uses the technology. Its AI Persona badges address a narrower issue: whether an artist’s identity is AI-generated, rather than whether AI contributed to an individual song.
Apple Music introduced AI Transparency Tags in March 2026, covering tracks, compositions, artwork and music videos. Initially, the system relied on record labels and distributors to identify AI use. In August, Apple said it would introduce visible “Made With AI” labels later in 2026 and require providers to flag content where AI created a material portion.
YouTube Music began rolling out labels on October 14, 2026, for tracks created primarily using generative AI, including music with AI-generated compositions and vocals. It combines information from music partners with its own detection tools to identify such tracks. The labels appear on the player page, with plans to extend them to the YouTube app.
Music labels want AI-generated tracks excluded from royalty pools: Saregama India managing director Vikram Mehra said in May 2026 that music labels in India and globally were working with the three leading streaming platforms to ensure that purely AI-generated music received no share of royalty pools. He said Saregama had not experienced revenue leakage or a loss of market share from such uploads, which he described as having little traction. However, he called for streaming platforms and intellectual property owners to agree on distributing royalties only to rights holders of genuine intellectual property.
The debate extends beyond royalty allocation to the use of artists’ voices and identities. In December 2025, British singer Jorja Smith’s label alleged that the viral track “I Run” by Haven used an AI clone of her voice without permission. The track was removed from streaming services following copyright complaints before being re-released with different vocals.
Similarly, MediaNama reviewed a September 2026 lawsuit by a Canadian music publishers’ group against Suno for copyright infringement and found that several infringing songs listed in the annexure were just AI copies in different languages or genres of existing popular songs.
Questions for Spotify: MediaNama has sent the following questions to Spotify. We will update the copy when we receive a response:
- Spotify’s AI Credits currently rely on artists voluntarily disclosing AI use. Does Spotify plan to make disclosure mandatory for tracks that use generative AI, and how will it identify tracks where artists or distributors fail to disclose such use?
- How many of the 50 million tracks mentioned in the October 20, 2026 blog post were identified as AI-generated, and how does Spotify distinguish AI-generated music from human-made music when your post itself acknowledged the limitations of AI detection tools?
- Does Spotify plan to introduce separate royalty eligibility rules for AI-generated music, and how does it prevent AI-generated tracks that imitate existing artists or copyrighted works from receiving royalties at the expense of human artists?
- Given concerns about AI-generated music replicating existing songs, voices and compositions, including allegations raised in lawsuits against AI music-generation companies, what measures does Spotify take to identify and remove such tracks? Does Spotify plan to introduce proactive checks for unauthorised AI imitations?
Also read:
- Spotify will label AI artists; India’s rules demand labels on the music too
- Spotify and UMG strike landmark deal to let fans create licensed AI covers and remixes
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