Spotify Removes 75 Million Spam Tracks in Past Year Amid Surge in AI-Generated Music
Stockholm-based Spotify has removed 75 million tracks from its platform in the past year, largely due to a rise in artificial intelligence (AI) enabling the mass production of spam music. The surge includes ultra-short tracks and duplicates of existing artists, according to a statement released by the company.
Spotify acknowledged that “spam tactics…have become easier to exploit as AI tools make it easier for anyone to generate large volumes of music.” Despite the increase in AI-generated content, Spotify maintains it is not significantly impacting listening habits or artist payments. The company reported paying $10 billion in royalties last year, a figure often debated between the platform and musicians.
“Engagement with AI-generated music on our platform is minimal and isn’t impacting streams or revenue distribution for human artists in any meaningful way,” Spotify said.
To combat the issue, Spotify implemented a rule in 2023 requiring tracks to accumulate over 1,000 streams before generating payment, effectively targeting scammers. The company is also tightening regulations surrounding vocal deepfakes, permitting their use only with the artist’s explicit consent and cracking down on fraudulent uploads to artist profiles.
A notable example of deepfake controversy occurred in 2023 with the release and subsequent removal of “Heart on My Sleeve,” an AI-generated song falsely attributed to Drake and the Weeknd, following objections from Universal Music group regarding copyright infringement.
Spotify announced its support for a new industry standard developed by DDEX, a tech and music-industry backed non-profit, to disclose AI usage in music creation. However, labeling music as AI-generated will be voluntary for artists.
“This change is about strengthening trust across the platform,” Spotify stated. “It’s not about punishing artists who use AI responsibly or down ranking tracks for disclosing details about how they were made.”
The platform has not removed Velvet Sundown, an AI-generated band with important streams, as it currently complies with Spotify’s anti-spam policies, despite calls for mandatory AI-generated music tagging.
