“New Music Friday” on Spotify now features a “Verified by Spotify” badge, introduced by the audio streaming platform to differentiate authentic artists from AI-generated music accounts. This move aims to highlight artists with sustained listener engagement and a strong presence both online and offline. Artists must meet certain criteria, such as having at least 10,000 active listeners over three consecutive months, to qualify for verification.
The green check mark badge can be seen on profiles of renowned artists like Madonna, BTS, and Bad Bunny, as well as Canadian talents like The Beaches, Cameron Whitcomb, and Jeremy Dutcher. However, some notable artists like Joni Mitchell and bbno$ are yet to receive verification. Spotify plans to roll out the badges gradually and will not extend the verification to podcasts.
While Spotify’s verification system mirrors those on social media platforms like Twitter and Meta’s Instagram, Spotify has no plans to monetize the badges. Concerns have been raised about potential barriers the verification process may pose for smaller independent artists. The evolving verification system on Spotify excludes AI-generated work from consideration, unlike Apple Music and Deezer, which have introduced tools to identify AI-generated music.
Artists are also taking proactive steps to safeguard their work from AI misuse, with Taylor Swift filing trademark applications to protect her voice and image. As the music industry grapples with the rise of AI-generated content, the role of verification systems in ensuring authenticity and protecting artists’ rights becomes increasingly crucial.