Spotify introduces verified artist badges to help distinguish…

As AI-generated artists and tracks flood music streaming platforms, Spotify is rolling out a new “Verified by Spotify” badge to help listeners more easily identify authentic human artists. Spotify looks for an identifiable artist presence both on and off platform, like concert dates, merch, and linked social accounts on their artist profile.

Given the vast number of profiles on the platform, Spotify says verification will roll out on an ongoing basis, and that the absence of a badge does not mean a profile will not receive one in the future. Spotify is prioritizing artists with active fan interest and notable contributions to music culture, rather than so-called “functional music” creators — think algorithm-optimized background or focus playlists — whose content is designed for passive or background listening. “We’ve designed this new verification program thoughtfully with listeners and artists in mind, and we’ll continue to evolve this program over time,” Spotify wrote in a blog post. “Our goal is to make it easier for you to trust and understand the human artistry behind the music you listen to on Spotify, and develop long-term, meaningful connections with the artists and music you love.” The platform is also launching a new profile section in beta across all artist profiles that will highlight career milestones, release activity, and touring activity.

Spotify says this section will give users a quick way to see an artist’s authentic activity even if they haven’t yet met the criteria for a verification badge. Last month, the company started beta testing an “ Artist Profile Protection” feature that allows artists to review releases before they go live on their profiles to give them more control over which tracks are associated with their name.

Although Spotify hasn’t shared specifics on the number of AI tracks being added to its platform, rival streaming service Deezer announced last week that AI-generated tracks now represent 44% of all new music uploaded to its platform daily. OpenAI ends Microsoft legal peril over its $50B Amazon deal DeepMind’s David Silver just raised $1.1B to build an AI that learns without human data OpenAI could be making a phone with AI agents replacing apps The Stanford freshmen who want to rule the world … will probably read this book and try even harder Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage Meta’s loss is Thinking Machines’ gain Google to invest up to $40B in Anthropic in cash and compute

Source: TechCrunch