Spotify is introducing new verification badges on artist pages in an effort to help listeners distinguish human musicians from the growing wave of AI-generated music on streaming platforms.
The new “Verified by Spotify” badge, marked with a light green checkmark, will appear on eligible artist profiles and next to artist names in search results over the coming weeks, Spotify announced Thursday, April 30.
The company said the badge signals that an artist profile has been reviewed and meets its standards.
“In the AI era, it’s more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to,” Spotify said in a post on its website.
To qualify, artists must show consistent listener activity over time, remain in good standing with Spotify’s platform policies and demonstrate signs of a real artist presence, such as concert dates, merchandise or linked social media accounts.
Spotify said profiles that appear to primarily represent AI-generated music or AI personas will not be eligible at launch.
“Listeners need to trust that the artists they’re listening to are real artists building careers in music,” Spotify’s head of global artist partnerships, Ashley Graver, said in a video message on Spotify News’ Instagram account.
The company said more than 99% of artists that listeners actively search for will be verified when the program begins, representing hundreds of thousands of musicians, most of them independent artists. Spotify said reviews will continue on an ongoing basis, and that the absence of a badge does not necessarily mean an artist will not receive one later.
The move comes as streaming services face mounting pressure over AI-generated music, impersonation and low-quality tracks designed for passive listening.
Last year, the mysterious psychedelic rock act the Velvet Sundown drew scrutiny after amassing more than 550,000 monthly Spotify listeners in less than a month despite having little verifiable online presence.
AI artists have continued to gain traction. In November, the AI-created country act Breaking Rust reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart with “Walk My Walk,” even as questions remained about the people behind the project.
Spotify is also adding a beta section to artist profiles that highlights details such as career milestones, release activity and touring history. The company compared the feature to nutrition labels, saying it is meant to give listeners a clearer snapshot of an artist’s activity.
“We’ll pair these standards with human review and judgment to identify real artists behaving in good-faith, not just filtering out bad actors,” Spotify said.