Spotify removes 50 million AI-generated tracks from recommendations

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 18:32 · Archive

Spotify has removed more than 50 million AI-generated songs classified as slop or spam from user recommendations over the past year.

Spotify has removed more than 50 million songs it categorises as AI-generated slop or spam from user recommendations over the past year. The company announced the move on Tuesday, saying it made changes to its recommendation system to highlight more music from human artists and prevent slop or spam from appearing in curated playlists.

Spotify determined that users were consistently skipping or rejecting tracks identified as slop or spam. Since making these changes, the company says it has seen 'a marked decrease in listener concerns about this content showing up in recommendations'.

Spotify uses a combination of listener engagement and feedback, upload patterns, metadata and third-party AI detection tools to identify potentially AI-generated spam. However, Engadget notes that Spotify has not necessarily removed these tracks entirely from the platform, only from recommendations. The company acknowledged that spammers will continue to evolve their tactics and that AI detection tools have limitations that will become more apparent as generative AI systems advance.

Other music platforms are taking different approaches: YouTube Music and Deezer label or filter AI-generated music, whilst Bandcamp has banned AI music entirely.

How it is being reported

• Spotify is dancing around its AI 'slop and spam' problemThe company said it removed 50 million such tracks from recommendations, but hasn't necessarily wiped them entirely.Engadget · 20 Oct, 18:11
• Spotify pulled 50 million AI slop and spam tracks from its recommendationsSpotify says it has removed more than 50 million songs considered AI-generated slop or spam from user recommendations over the past year. That's according to an announcement on Tuesday, which says Spotify has also made changes to its recommendation system to highlight more music made by human artists. "Our editors hold the same standard and […]The Verge · 20 Oct, 15:18

In this story: Spotify · Universal Music Group · Believe · YouTube Music · Deezer · Bandcamp

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