Spotify added a 'Verified' badge to distinguish human artists from AI

Spotify has introduced a new verification badge that adds a green checkmark icon and the text 'Verified by Spotify' next to artist names.

The badge is granted when signals such as linked social accounts, consistent listener activity, and things like merchandise sales or tour dates show that the artist is real.

Spotify said it will expand the rollout over the coming weeks, and that over 99% of artists seen in search will be eligible for verification. This corresponds to a scale of hundreds of thousands of artists.

However, the badge functions more as a way to filter out AI-generated personas, and it does not separately indicate whether the music itself was produced using AI. Because of this, critics point out that it may favor commercially successful artists while putting new independent artists at a disadvantage.

Spotify has faced criticism in recent years over how the platform handles AI-generated content, and the BBC has previously covered both calls for AI music labeling and cases like The Velvet Sundown. That band currently labels itself as a 'synthetic music project guided by artificial intelligence.'