Spotify cracks down on AI-generated ‘slop’

NEW YORK

More than 50 million tracks were removed from Spotify this year.

Spotify has removed more than 50 million tracks identified as artificial intelligence-generated “slop” or spam from its recommendations this year, as the music streaming platform steps up efforts to protect human artists and improve the listening experience.

The company announced the figure on Oct. 20 as it marked one year since introducing stronger measures against AI-related spam, impersonation and deceptive content. It also said it had removed more than 75 million spam tracks from the platform altogether for serious or repeated violations of its rules.

The 50 million tracks excluded from recommendations have not necessarily been deleted from Spotify’s catalogue. Instead, the company has updated its recommendation system to prevent such content from being routinely suggested to listeners.

Spotify said it analyzed songs that users frequently skipped, ignored or reported as unwanted over the past six months. It combined listener feedback with upload patterns, track metadata and third-party AI detection tools to identify suspicious material.

The spread of AI-generated music has raised concerns about competition for human artists and the distribution of streaming royalties. Spotify requires tracks to reach at least 1,000 streams within a 12-month period to qualify for recording royalties. Tracks showing strong indicators of AI generation are 10 times more likely to fall below that threshold, the company said.