Spotify to label AI artists and exclude them from the algorithm

A crackdown is underway for fake artists on Spotify, as the platform seeks to label AI artists and exclude them from the algorithm.

The world's largest music streaming platform will now display an "AI persona" label on any AI-generated artist's profile and their track listing on playlists.

The company has said it will use human review and AI investigative tools to determine the authenticity of an artist. The profiles will have the opportunity to label themselves with the "AI persona" badge from August 12. The streaming giant will start identifying and tagging relevant profiles from mid-September.

Streaming services have seen a rise in AI music with profiles such as Sienna Rose and Velvet Sundown generating millions of streams. These artists will carry the label in an effort to limit the loss of streams from genuine musician's to deep fake profiles.

The Velvet Sundown released two albums before admitting their music, images and backstory were generated by AI.

The "synthetic music project" website reads, "We exist to confuse music journalists, comfort robots, and help Spotify executives sleep at night. Are we replacing human artists? No. (Yes.)"

Last year, Spotify revealed it had removed 75m spam tracks from its service over a twelve month period, their legitimate catalogue holds 100m tracks.

"True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity," Spotify said.

"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.”

Some of the AI-focused initiatives from the company have received backlash in the past, with Lorde calling out its "About the Song" feature in July, when it generated false information about her song 'Current Affairs'. A spokesperson from Spotify has noted that the tool was still in beta.