Spotify adding verified artist badges to help identify real artists

Spotify is continuing its crackdown on AI-generated music with a new ‘Verified Artist’ badge to help listeners easily distinguish which artists are actual people.

To receive the badge, the music streaming platform looks for an identifiable artist presence both on and off the platform, including concert dates, merchandise available for purchase, and linked social accounts on the artist’s profile.

Additionally, artists must have consistent listener activity and engagement on their profile over time. TechCrunch notes that Spotify is focusing on artists that people actively seek out over an extended period, rather than on artists experiencing one-time spikes in engagement.

Profiles that primarily represent AI-generated music or AI-persona artists are not eligible for verification.

When the feature debuts, more than 99 per cent of artists that listeners actively search for will be verified. The platform said that most are independent, representing a broad mix of genres, career stages, and regions.

Users will start to see the new badges appear on artist profiles and next to artist names in search results in the coming weeks. The badges will sport a green checkmark alongside the words “Verified by Spotify.”

The platform is also launching a new profile section in beta across all artist profiles, showcasing career milestones alongside release and touring activity. Spotify says this section will let users see the artist’s actual activity, even if they don’t have a badge.

Verification will roll out on an ongoing basis due to the sheer number of artist profiles. Spotify noted that just because an artist doesn’t have a badge doesn’t mean they won’t receive one in the future.

Source: TechCrunch