For a while, AI-sounding tracks have been turning up in my weekly Spotify playlists.
Several followed the same pattern. They were very repetitive and often only two to two and a half minutes long. The music did not seem to tell much of a story.
I started opening the artist profiles because I wanted to know who was behind them. In several cases, I still had no clear answer. I could not tell whether a person had made the music at all.
None of those things proves that a track was made by AI. But when they all come together, I start asking questions.
That bothered me because a song should carry an emotion or a story. I want to feel that someone had a reason to make it.
If you have ever spent twelve hours on a track, you know the feeling. Sometimes making music gives you a real rush. Sometimes it helps you work through a bad mood, and you feel better afterwards.
Using AI for one part of a mix is different for me.
I’ve used AI-assisted tools while mixing to adjust vocal levels or help find compression and EQ settings, especially when tracks are masking each other. They give me a starting point. I still listen, make adjustments and decide what works.
You can also use generated material creatively if you change it enough and make it part of your own track. A bit like sampling in the good old days.
Clicking a button and receiving a complete song a minute later is another matter. At that point, you have skipped the hours of building the song. That is the part I value most.
Maybe someone only needs quick background music for a video. Fine. I still don’t think that file should compete on the same terms as music made by artists.
On August 11, Spotify announced its new AI Persona badge.
Artists can already disclose through Spotify for Artists that their profile represents an AI Persona. Starting in mid-September, listeners will see the badge on artist profiles, in Search and on track rows inside playlists.
Spotify will not rely on self-disclosure alone. Its review team will also examine profiles whose names and images appear to represent a photorealistic AI-generated person.
If Spotify applies a badge after reviewing a profile, the artist can disclose the AI identity or appeal the decision.
The badge only tells you about the identity presented on the profile. It does not tell you how the song itself was made. Spotify uses AI Credits and SongDNA for that information.
Spotify will leave AI Personas out of editorial and algorithmic Playlist recommendations by default. Their music may still be recommended to listeners who already follow them.
I welcome that rule.
AI-generated catalogs can grow much faster than a person could realistically release music. If millions of one-click songs enter the same system, human artists have to compete with all of them for the same limited attention.
There is already more music on Spotify than anyone can listen to. Add millions of generated tracks, and music made by people becomes even harder to find. I don’t see how that helps music.
I am also concerned about the money. Streaming income is already limited for many independent artists. If generated catalogs take a growing share of streams, that income could shrink further.
Listeners may also end up hearing more generated music than human-made music, even if they never asked for it.
I rarely receive fully AI-generated songs for mixing or mastering, thankfully. The few I have received were often already pushed so hard and flattened that there was not much left for me to do in mastering.
The badge still does not tell us whether the song itself was generated.
Fully generated music can still be uploaded from a profile that does not present a photorealistic AI person.
I would have no problem with Spotify banning songs generated entirely from one prompt when the person uploading them does little else.
I know that line will be difficult to define. AI-assisted tools are already part of normal production software, and generated material can still be used creatively. Spotify would need to separate that from someone clicking Generate and uploading hundreds of finished songs.
If people want a separate platform for fully AI generated music, that is fine. I don’t want Spotify to become that platform.
Would you ban fully AI-generated music from Spotify, or should it stay available with a badge and no recommendations? Reply and tell me.
Best,
Marcus
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