Spotify draws its AI line at deception, not how the music was created

Spotify does not plan to ban AI-generated music from its platform, even as generative AI tools make it easier than ever to create and distribute songs. Instead, it is drawing a line around impersonation and deception, especially when an artist presented as a real person is actually an AI-generated identity.

Speaking to ET Online at a roundtable on the sidelines of Spotify’s Loud & Clear 2026 report for India, Dhruvank Vaidya, head of music and podcasts at Spotify India, said the company has “very strong policies and guardrails” around AI, with a focus on preventing impersonation, copyright infringement and deception.

“We don’t see listening behaviour being driven by whether a song is AI-generated or not. Users ultimately listen for great tracks and talented artists,” Vaidya said.


Also Read: Indian artists' Spotify royalties rise 29% in 2025; Telugu leads with 120% jump

The company introduced AI Credits in April 2026, which allows artists to disclose how AI was used to create a song. The platform said it is receiving tens of thousands of such credits every day and is encouraging artists to be transparent about how they use the technology.

“AI use in music creation exists on a spectrum,” Vaidya said. “Some artists may use AI for only a small part of the creative process, while others may rely on it more extensively.”

This was also why Spotify stopped short of banning AI generated music completely. The company says many artists are using AI as a creative tool, and removing such music entirely could also mean removing artists whose listeners genuinely enjoy their work and understand what they are engaging with.

Spotify is taking a firm position when AI is used to create an artist identity that could be mistaken for a real person.

Starting in mid-September, the company will introduce an AI Persona badge on profiles whose public identity appears to be AI-generated. The badge will appear on artist profiles, in search results and alongside tracks in playlists.

By default, music from AI Personas will not be included in Spotify's editorial or algorithmic recommendations unless a listener already follows that AI Persona.

Spotify says the AI Persona badge is about who the artist is, rather than how the music itself was made.

Does AI create the problem of too much music?

Transparency addresses only part of the challenge. AI also makes it possible to generate and upload music at a scale that could impact royalties for artists.

A report by ProMarket, a publication of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, pointed to the potential pressure on musicians’ earnings.

Also Read: Spotify aiming for a 'ChatGPT moment' in music and India is central to the plan

Streaming platforms such as Spotify and Amazon Music accounted for 69% of global recorded-music revenue in 2024, or $20.4 billion, according to the report. As more tracks compete for streams, AI-generated music could further fragment the pool of royalties available to artists.

The research also suggests that the audience response is more complicated than simply rejecting AI music.

Experiments conducted in 2024 found that listeners did not necessarily rate AI-generated music worse than human-made music. In some cases, listeners actually perceived AI-generated songs to be superior.

However, once listeners were told that a song was AI-generated, their willingness to listen to it again and their willingness to pay for it declined, particularly among pop listeners.

Vaidya, however, maintained that the song itself remains the main driver of listening.

Spotify’s approach is therefore less about creating a separate category of “AI music” and more about giving listeners enough information to make their own choices.

AI can help musicians create songs faster and experiment with new sounds. But the same technology can also produce enormous volumes of low-cost content, making it harder for genuine artists to be discovered amid a flood of new tracks.

Spotify says its focus remains on helping fans discover music while protecting the platform from spam, impersonation and deception.

For Indian artists, particularly those building audiences in Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu, Haryanvi and Malayalam, that question could become increasingly relevant as streaming becomes a bigger part of how regional music reaches listeners.