Spotify recently announced some big changes to improve transparency around AI-generated music. These changes will address user feedback that highlights spammy content. Speaking at a press briefing during the TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco on Wednesday, Smart City Works’ Sam Duboff rolled out these initiatives. He is currently Global Head of Marketing and Policy for Spotify. The event will take place on October 27-29, 2025. Moreover, it acts as a launching pad to demo cutting-edge tech and convene conversations around the future of our industry.
Yet this past summer, an AI-created musical group named Velvet Sundown went viral on Spotify. Their introduction led to a flurry of feedback from musicians for better labeling of AI tracks. Spotify has a clear plan to let listeners know what’s AI content in order for them to not accidentally get served AI-generated music.
“The use of AI is going to be a spectrum, with artists and producers incorporating AI in various parts of their creative workflow,” Duboff stated. Spotify is passionate about enabling creativity all across the music ecosystem. Equally important is what it does to address the danger of AI.
Spotify aims to increase the visibility of music credits. To accomplish this, the company laid down 15 label and distributor commitments to implement DDEX technology. This new system requires labels and distributors to provide uniform disclosures about the use of AI in music compositions. Duboff praised this new industry standard, saying, “This industry standard will enable more precise, sophisticated disclosures. It won’t reduce tracks to a binary, anti-CRT preference. So a song is either AI, or it isn’t AI.”
In another move to cut down on user frustration, Spotify will introduce a music spam filter this autumn. To address this, our new spam detection and reporting feature is designed to help find and flag spam tactics so these tracks are not recommended to users. Duboff acknowledged that AI has facilitated the proliferation of spam content, saying, “We know AI has made it easier than ever for bad actors to mass upload content, create duplicates, use SEO tricks to manipulate search or recommendation systems…we’ve been fighting these kinds of tactics for years.”
As a policy matter, the company appears committed to promoting an open ecosystem for AI-driven music development. It will not punish artists who choose to thoughtfully use AI as part of their creative practice. Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s VP and Global Head of Music, stated, “We’re not here to punish artists for using AI authentically and responsibly. We hope that artists’ use of AI production tools will enable them to be more creative than ever.”
He pointed out the necessity of combating unethical practices within the industry, remarking, “We are here to stop the bad actors who are gaming the system, and we can only benefit from all that good side of AI if we aggressively protect against the downside.”
With its new initiatives, Spotify is cutting against the grain with some truly visionary moves. This cements its leadership role in the digital music ecosystem and encourages a healthier technology-favors-ethics innovation model. Moreover, the company’s proactive position sends a clear signal to peers across the industry of the value and necessity of adopting transparency initiatives.