Spotify unveils new policies to address AI abuse, boost transparency

Spotify has introduced a three-pronged initiative plan to encourage artists to be more transparent about their use of artificial intelligence, limit certain abuse, and protect artists on its platform.

The Swedish platform is working to endorse musicians and producers to abide by a new standard developed by the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), a music licensing organization, and firms to develop certain standards for the creative industries.

According to the Head of Music Marketing, Spotify plans to set forth this information once the metadata is fully disseminated.

However, the issue gained prominence when an AI group called The Velvet Sundown suddenly went viral in June with their most popular songs surpassing three million streams on Spotify.

The new labeling system specifically operates on a discretionary basis and does not currently require content uploaders to disclose the role of AI in their music production.

The Head of Music at Spotify, Charlie Hellman stated in an official presentation, “Initially, I think people’s mindset was very much binary.”

He further explained, “There’s either AI music or there’s not; but the reality is that we’re now seeing a proliferation of so many different ways that AI is incorporated into various steps of the creative process.”

Currently, Deezer is the French major audio platform that systematically flags tracks generated by artificial intelligence.

Twenty-eight percent of music uploaded to the platform is fully AI-generated. This represents 30,000 AI tracks every day.

Spotify has declared an updated policy that clarifies the unsanctioned use of AI and prohibits the content creation of deepfakes.

The policy states that such content will be automatically removed from the platform.