Spotify is introducing a new feature that will highlight if an artist has been generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
The streaming service says the AI Persona badge, that will start appearing on some profiles from mid-September, will flag to listeners if an “artist’s identity may be AI-generated and does not represent a real person”.
The changes are being introduced to give listeners “more transparency” about what they’re hearing, Spotify says.
It comes after some music fans made it “clear” to the streamer they don’t like seeing a profile that seems to be a human, to then realise it’s AI-generated.
AI-generated music has long been a concern for fans and artists.
Musician Alex Winn tells BBC Newsbeat he thinks the incoming feature is a “really good thing”.
“It almost separates the people who have created music properly from the people just using AI,” says guitarist Winn, who plays in the North East band Swindled.
The musician feels people want to “connect emotionally with music” and he thinks “AI can’t really do that”.
The 19-year-old also says having the AI label will help people make an informed choice about their listening habits, and he hopes it will redirect users to other artists and help level the playing field.
“Bands are finding it hard to compete no matter what, nevermind with some AI bands taking over,” he says.
The BBC previously heard from one frustrated listener, who, after finding his playlists increasingly sprinkled with tracks he suspected were AI-generated, built a tool to automatically label and block them.
Announcing the change, external, Spotify says “true artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity”.
“In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are,” it adds.
“That’s more essential than ever in the age of generative AI.”
