Spotify has announced the removal of 75 million spam tracks from its platform over the past year, underscoring the growing challenge posed by artificial intelligence in the music industry. “Spotify has revealed that it removed 75 million spam tracks from its platform over the past year, as artificial intelligence tools make it easier for fraudsters to create fake music.” With the streaming giant’s catalogue at 100 million songs, the scale of takedowns highlights how AI-generated spam has become almost as widespread as its legitimate library.
According to Spotify, the spam tracks were detected either before being uploaded, thanks to existing filters, or removed later once identified as fraudulent. The company is now developing a dedicated music spam filter designed to tag suspicious uploaders and ensure that dubious content is excluded from algorithmic recommendations. By doing so, Spotify hopes to curb the growth of AI-driven fraud, which often aims to exploit royalties by flooding the platform with mass-produced, low-quality content.
Fraudsters are increasingly leveraging AI to create everything from ultra-short tracks and background instrumentals to impersonations and duplicates of famous artists. This surge in artificial content has raised concerns about its impact on legitimate musicians. However, Spotify reassured that the actual engagement with such material remains minimal. “Spotify emphasized that despite the rise of AI-made content, engagement with such tracks remains minimal and does not significantly impact streams or royalty payments to human artists.”
The platform, which paid out $10 billion in royalties last year, has also implemented stricter policies to discourage abuse. A 2023 rule requires tracks to surpass 1,000 streams before they qualify for royalty payouts, significantly reducing the incentive for scammers to flood the platform with fake music.
Spotify is further tightening its stance on vocal deepfakes, permitting their use only with the explicit consent of the artists involved. In parallel, the company is backing a new industry standard from DDEX to disclose AI usage in music creation, aiming to establish greater transparency in how music is made. “Spotify noted that this move aims to build trust across the platform without penalizing artists who responsibly use AI, highlighting the delicate balance between innovation and protecting creators in the age of artificial intelligence.”
