Spotify announced on Thursday a series of updates to its AI policy, designed to better indicate when AI is being used to make music, to cut down on spam, and to make it clearer that unauthorized voice clones are not permitted on its service. The company says it will adopt an industry standard for identifying and labeling AI music in credits, known as DDEX, and will soon roll out a new music spam filter to catch more bad actors.
Under the DDEX system, labels, distributors, and music partners will submit standardized AI disclosures in music credits. This will offer detailed information about the use of AI, such as whether it was used for vocals, instrumentation, or post-production. Sam Duboff, Spotify’s Global Head of Marketing and Policy, said that this standard will allow for “more accurate, nuanced disclosures” and will not force tracks into a “false binary where a song either has to be categorically AI or not AI at all.” As part of the same announcement, Spotify clarified that unauthorized AI voice clones, deepfakes, and any other form of vocal replicas or impersonation are not allowed and will be removed from the platform.
The Battle Against Bad Actors
Because AI tools make it easier for anyone to release music, Spotify also has a new plan to cut down on the potential spam that results. This fall, the company will roll out a new music spam filter that will attempt to address spam tactics, tag them, and then stop recommending those tracks to users. Duboff noted that while the company has been fighting these tactics for years, “AI is accelerating these issues with more sophistication, and we know that requires new types of mitigations.” The company plans to roll out the filter gradually to ensure it is targeting the right signals and will add more signals over time.
Spotify will also work with distributors to address something called “profile mismatches,” a scheme where someone fraudulently uploads music to another artist’s profile. The company hopes to prevent more of these fraudulent uploads before the music ever goes live. Spotify VP and Global Head of Music, Charlie Hellman, emphasized that the company still supports the use of AI as long as it is used in a non-fraudulent way, saying, “But we are here to stop the bad actors who are gaming the system, and we can only benefit from all that good side of AI if we aggressively protect against the downside.”
A New Industry Standard for AI
Spotify’s updates follow a rapid increase in AI-generated music across the industry. This summer, an AI-generated band called Velvet Sundown went viral on its service, leading users to complain that the company wasn’t transparent about labeling its AI tracks. Meanwhile, streaming rival Deezer recently shared that about 18% of the music uploaded to its service each day—or more than 20,000 tracks—is now fully AI-generated, and that figure has since increased to over 30,000. Spotify would not share its own specific metrics on the matter but noted that “all streaming services have almost exactly the same catalog.” The company believes its move to adopt the DDEX standard could signal to others that it’s time to adopt the technology.
Author’s Opinion
Spotify’s new policy is a necessary step towards transparency in a rapidly evolving music landscape. By adopting an industry standard for labeling, Spotify is trying to balance the needs of artists who use AI as a creative tool with the needs of consumers who want to know what they are listening to. The fight against spam and fraud is a crucial part of this, as AI makes it easier than ever to flood the market with low-quality content. This policy, while not a perfect solution, is a strong signal that the company is taking the ethical and creative challenges of AI seriously, and it could set a new standard for how the music industry approaches the integration of artificial intelligence.
Featured image credit: Thibault Penin via Unsplash
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