Spotify lets artists manually approve releases to combat AI fakes flooding music platforms

Spotify Introduces Artist Profile Protection to Combat Rising AI Slop

Spotify is beta-testing a new feature called Artist Profile Protection that gives musicians the ability to manually approve releases before they appear on their profiles1

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. The streaming service aims to address a growing problem that has frustrated artists across genres: AI fakes and impostor tracks appearing under their names without authorization. From mainstream stars like Drake and Beyoncé to experimental composers like William Basinski and indie rock bands like King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, artists have found fake tracks infiltrating their profiles on music streaming platforms1

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While metadata mixups and shared artist names have long caused songs to land on wrong profiles, the explosion of AI-generated songs has intensified the issue dramatically2

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. An estimated 50,000 AI-generated songs get uploaded to Spotify each day, creating a flood of content that threatens brand identity and audience retention for legitimate musicians2

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. The platform deleted 75 million of these tracks last year alone, yet the problem persists.

How the Review Process Works for Artists

Artists included in the limited beta must opt in to use Artist Profile Protection. Once activated, any music submitted under their name requires approval before displaying on their profile—either by the artists themselves or their management team1

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. When an artist denies a track through the review process, it won't be associated with their profile, won't contribute to stats, and won't appear in user recommendations2

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. This gives artists with more control over their digital presence and helps them combat AI fakes that could damage their reputation.

Artist Keys Streamline Legitimate Releases

Recognizing that manual approval for every release could burden independent artists and small labels with limited resources, Spotify developed artist keys as part of the solution1

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. These unique codes can be included with music submissions to trigger automatic approval, preventing legitimate releases from getting delayed while still preventing AI slop from infiltrating profiles. This dual approach balances protection against impostors with practical workflow needs for working musicians.

The Scale of the AI Slop Problem

The issue extends beyond simple inconvenience. Just last week, Sony requested removal of more than 135,000 AI-generated songs from Spotify after discovering the tracks were impersonating real artists2

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. The problem even affects bands that have left the streaming service entirely—King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard departed Spotify last year to protest CEO Daniel Ek's investment in a weapons manufacturing company, yet deepfake artists quickly filled the vacuum with fake content under their name2

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. Frontman Stu Mackenzie expressed despair over the situation, saying "we are truly doomed," while Basinski called the fake track phenomenon "total bullshit"1

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What Artists Should Watch For

While Spotify describes Artist Profile Protection as a "limited beta," the company promises to roll it out "to all artists as soon as we possibly can"1

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. The timeline for wider availability remains unclear, though the urgency is apparent given the daily influx of AI content. Artists should monitor whether other streaming platforms follow Spotify's lead in helping artists deal with AI slop, as requiring manual approval across multiple services could create workflow challenges. The success of this tool may determine how the music industry adapts to protect musicians from the continuing wave of low-quality, mass-produced AI tracks that threaten to undermine authentic creative work on streaming platforms.