Spotify is introducing an AI Persona badge that will flag artists whose identity may be AI-generated, the streaming service has announced. The badge will begin appearing on some profiles from mid-September.
According to the BBC, the badge is designed to tell listeners if an “artist’s identity may be AI-generated and does not represent a real person”. Spotify said the changes were being introduced to give listeners more transparency about what they are hearing, after music fans made it clear they did not like discovering that a profile they believed was human was in fact AI-generated.
The badge will appear on the banner and about section of artist profiles, as well as in search results and on tracks in playlists. Artists carrying the badge will not appear in users’ personalised recommendations unless the listener already follows them.
Spotify said the badge relates to an artist’s public identity rather than how the music was made, acknowledging that many human musicians now use AI tools in their work. Artists can already disclose AI use through the company’s AI Credits feature, which Spotify says receives tens of thousands of submissions daily.
The company hopes AI profiles will self-disclose in the same way, but it will also review accounts that appear to meet the criteria. Artists labelled by the streamer will be given the chance to appeal the decision, and the badge will note whether an artist was transparent about being AI-generated or whether Spotify had to review the account.
“True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity,” Spotify said in its announcement. “In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are. That’s more essential than ever in the age of generative AI.”
The move comes as AI-generated music becomes a growing concern on streaming platforms. The BBC previously reported on a frustrated listener who built a tool to automatically label and block tracks he suspected were AI-generated, after finding his playlists increasingly filled with them.
Industry analysts said the badge could set a new standard for transparency in music streaming, as platforms weigh listener trust against the rapid growth of AI-generated content.