The goal is to protect artists and maintain listener trust while still allowing creative uses of AI, according to a Thursday (Sept. 25) press release.
Smarter Filters to Catch Spammy Uploads
Spotify removed more than 75 million spam tracks in the past year, many of them ultra-short or duplicate files uploaded to game royalty rules, the release said. The company will now introduce a “music spam filter” that tags suspicious uploads and suppresses them in recommendation systems instead of deleting them outright.
The filter will use signals such as mass uploads, duplicate or near-duplicate audio, SEO-heavy titles, and tracks with little coherence. Because generative tools are improving quickly, Spotify will take a cautious rollout and refine the filter as abuse patterns change, according to the release.
Trust, Transparency and Tighter Impersonation Rules
To bring more clarity, Spotify is adopting the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX) metadata standard, an industry framework for sharing metadata consistently across labels, distributors and streaming platforms. Tracks must now disclose if AI was used in vocals, instrumentation or postproduction. These disclosures will appear through Spotify’s existing metadata channels, but they will not automatically reduce a track’s visibility, the release said.
The impersonation rules are also stricter. Vocal cloning or voice impersonation without consent is banned. Spotify will also target content mismatches, where uploads are falsely attributed to other artists. The company is working with distributors to block such uploads before release and has improved reporting tools so that rights holders can act more quickly, according to the release.
Advertisement: Scroll to Continue
Where This Could Lead
Spotify’s policy shift mirrors broader industry concerns about the role of AI in music.
The company has drawn a line between AI as a creative tool and AI as a source of fraud, noting that the company “won’t ban outright or discourage AI-generated music” but is instead focusing on spam and impersonation, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Meanwhile, Billboard reported Thursday that Spotify is addressing spam and impersonation as the “worst offenders.”
The changes arrive as regulators pay closer attention to how platforms use AI and how their algorithms influence competition. In other sectors, lawmakers have raised questions about whether major platforms act as gatekeepers and competitors. Similar scrutiny could extend to music if filtering and metadata rules affect which artists are promoted or sidelined.
On the commercial side, Spotify is also signaling that trust and identity matter beyond music content. Sandra Alzetta, Spotify’s vice president of commerce and customer service, told PYMNTS in an interview this month that the company views how users pay as nearly as important as what they play. That focus suggests that user credibility and platform reliability are becoming linked across commerce and content.
For now, Spotify’s policies show how the music industry is beginning to set guardrails for AI use. The company is positioning itself as willing to host AI-assisted creativity but unwilling to allow AI to undermine the integrity of its platform.
For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.
