Spotify, one of the leading music streaming services, is taking aim at the rise of AI in the streaming industry. Announcing a host of new rules and regulations around artificial intelligence in a new blog post, Spotify highlighted the ‘unsettling’ pace at which AI had advanced.
Of course, as a company that has used AI rather liberally, introducing the AI DJ, and utilising AI algorithms in much of its service, Spotify was equally quick to point towards the need for balance.
“At its best, AI is unlocking incredible new ways for artists to create music and for listeners to discover it. At its worst, AI can be used by bad actors and content farms to confuse or deceive listeners, push “slop” into the ecosystem, and interfere with authentic artists working to build their careers,” the blog post explained.
“That kind of harmful AI content degrades the user experience for listeners and often attempts to divert royalties to bad actors. The future of the music industry is being written, and we believe that aggressively protecting against the worst parts of Gen AI is essential to enabling its potential for artists and producers.”
While Spotify claims to have already removed over 75 million ‘spammy’ tracks from the service in the last year, its main aim is to limit the increase of AI slop further. This will occur through three new AI rulings.
AI disclosures for music with industry-standard credits
The biggest and most important update that has come from this new set of rules, Spotify is announcing the use of DDEX. This is a system for identifying and labelling AI music in credits.
With this system, labels, distributors and music partners will submit explanations of how AI was used in music. This means it can be made clear if AI was used to generate vocals or instrumentation, or used in post-production or any other area of the music.
This information will be displayed in the app when looking at music. Spotify has partnered with a range of industry partners on the introduction of this feature.
Stronger impersonation rules
One of Spotify’s new rules coming into place is its impersonation policy. This clarifies how the company handles claims around AI voice clones. This, in theory, would give artists stronger protections and a clearer method for recourse.
Spotify goes on to claim it is ramping up its investment to protect against uploaders fraudulently delivering music to another artist’s profile across streaming platforms.
Music spam filter
Spotify highlighted the rise in people using Spotify to make money through unethical means. The plan is to combat this via a music spam filter, which will identify and track uploaders misusing the service.
This includes mass uploads, duplicates, SEO hacks, artificially short track abuse and other methods of boosting their profile.
Spotify states in the blog this feature will be rolled out slowly and conservatively, attempting to avoid bans on the wrong accounts.
Spotify’s use of AI
While Spotify is putting in limits on the use of AI, it is by no means turning its back on AI. The company has been an active user of the technology for a long time now and has supported the use of AI by artists.
“While AI is changing how some music is made, our priorities are constant. We’re investing in tools to protect artist identity, enhance the platform, and provide listeners with more transparency,” the blog states.
“We support artists’ freedom to use AI creatively while actively combating its misuse by content farms and bad actors. Spotify does not create or own music; this is a platform for licensed music where royalties are paid based on listener engagement, and all music is treated equally, regardless of the tools used to make it.”
What do you think about Spotify's use of AI? Let us know in the comments box below.
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