Background on the Issue
Spotify, a leading music streaming platform, has recently announced new steps to encourage transparency regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in music production and to prevent certain abuses. This move comes after criticism for a lack of transparency in AI matters.
New Standards and Collaboration
Spotify is recommending musicians and producers to adhere to a new standard developed by the professional organization DDEX. This standard quantifies AI usage in music production, allowing creators to specify if a song was entirely created by AI, partially generated with AI assistance, or not influenced by AI at all.
Since early 2025, DDEX has enabled the inclusion of such metadata in a song’s description. Once integrated, Spotify promises to display these details within its application.
Voluntary System and Non-Enforcement
The system operates on a voluntary basis, and Spotify does not mandate content uploaders to disclose AI involvement in their productions.
Charlie Hellman, a Spotify executive, explained that initially, there was a binary view on AI usage: either it’s AI-generated or not. However, Hellman clarified that they now recognize various ways AI is employed throughout the production process.
Spotify aims not to penalize artists who use AI authentically and responsibly, according to Hellman.
Industry Support and Deezer’s Distinction
More than 15 record labels and distributors have pledged to comply with the DDEX naming conventions, collaborating with Spotify on this initiative.
Deezer remains the only significant audio platform that consistently flags tracks entirely generated by AI.
In June, the sudden popularity of The Velvet Sundown, an AI-generated music group, brought attention to the issue. One of their songs garnered over three million streams on Spotify.
At the time, when AFP inquired about AI-generated songs, Spotify denied any intention to allow such content to flourish without proper copyright payments.
Spotify’s Sam Duboff stated that AI-generated songs identified by the platform have a minimal audience, representing only a small fraction of streams.
Duboff argued that music requiring little effort to create tends to lack quality and struggles to find an audience.
Regarding AI, Duboff emphasized that Spotify aims to counteract “malicious actors” who exploit this technology to manipulate search algorithms and recommendations.
Updated Regulations on Unauthorized AI Use
Spotify also announced updated guidelines to explicitly prohibit unauthorized AI use, including deepfakes and other imitations without consent.
Content violating these regulations will be removed from Spotify, according to Duboff.
