Spotify Launches New Verified Badge for “Real” Artists

Spotify is starting to roll out a new “Verified by Spotify” badge on artist profiles to signal that they’re real creators who comply with the platform’s rules. As music streaming services are now being flooded by AI-generated content, the company believes that it’s “more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to.

A recent report from Spotify competitor Deezer revealed that AI-generated tracks now represent 44% of all new uploaded music on the platform. The company developed an advanced AI music detection tool that it’s now licensing to other companies, and it also recently started to tag AI-generated music on its service.

Back in September, Spotify announced that it was working on an industry standard for AI disclosures in music credits. Since April 16, artists can now disclose how they’ve used AI in their music in Song Credits on mobile, but the company also wants to better highlight authentic artists on its platform.

“The new Verified by Spotify badge shows an artist profile has been reviewed and meets Spotify’s criteria for authenticity and trust,” the company explained. “We look for an identifiable artist presence both on and off-platform, like concert dates, merch, and linked social accounts on their artist profile.”

This new Verified badge will also signal that an artist’s audience is engaging with their content over a long period of time. It will start rolling out to artist profiles over the coming weeks, and because the verification process will rely on human review, it could take time before all legitimate artists receive it.

“At launch, we have ensured that more than 99% of the artists Spotify listeners actively search for will be verified, representing hundreds of thousands of artists—the majority independent—spanning genres, career stages, and geographies. This means prioritizing artists with active fan interest, or who have made important contributions to music culture and history, rather than functional music creators and content farms whose content is primarily designed for passive or background listening,” the company explained.

In addition to these new Verified badges, Spotify is also rolling out a new section on artist profiles to highlight career milestones, release and touring activity, and more. This beta feature will start appearing in the coming weeks in the About section of artist profiles on mobile.