Spotify: the moment everyone is talking about

At Spotify, our focus is providing you with more context about artists and their music, so you can build... Spotify has emerged this Friday as one of the stories drawing attention in Nigeria.

Key facts

• At Spotify, our focus is providing you with more context about artists and their music, so you can build...
• Because Spotify is home to millions of uploaders and artist profiles, reviews and verification will happen on an ongoing basis to ensure accuracy and consistency.
• At launch, we have ensured that more than 99% of the artists Spotify listeners actively search for will be verified, representing hundreds of thousands of artists—the majority independent—spanning genres, career stages, and geographies.
• Spotify is rolling out new badges to artists in a move to differentiate human-made music from AI-generated content on the popular music streaming platform.
• It’s the latest evolution in Spotify’s efforts to authenticate the millions of artists, most of whom are small indie musicians, who have presences on the platform.

What we know

Going deeper, because Spotify is home to millions of uploaders and artist profiles, reviews and verification will happen on an ongoing basis to ensure accuracy and consistency.

On the substance, At launch, we have ensured that more than 99% of the artists Spotify listeners actively search for will be verified, representing hundreds of thousands of artists—the majority independent—spanning genres, career stages, and geographies.

Beyond the headlines, Spotify is rolling out new badges to artists in a move to differentiate human-made music from AI-generated content on the popular music streaming platform.

More precisely, It’s the latest evolution in Spotify’s efforts to authenticate the millions of artists, most of whom are small indie musicians, who have presences on the platform.

It is worth noting that the blue “Verified Artist” checkmark that Spotify first rolled out in 2017 was meant to signify that an artist’s profile was claimed and actively managed in Spotify for Artists.

By the numbers

At this stage, Last summer, an indie band called The Velvet Sundown got more than 1 million plays on Spotify before heavy speculation forced the supposed group to confirm that all of its tracks were generated with AI.

On a related note, since then, several Spotify artists have similarly amassed millions of monthly listeners despite being suspected of being AI.

Going deeper, Last year, around 6,300 users voted in a live poll for Spotify to “introduce a clear label for AI-generated songs and provide an option to filter them out entirely.”

On the substance, these criteria also make it feasible to conduct thorough reviews across millions of artist profiles.

What they're saying

“In the AI era, it’s more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to,” Spotify wrote in a blog post Thursday announcing the change.

“We’ll pair these standards with human review and judgment to identify real artists behaving in good-faith, not just filtering out bad actors,” the company wrote, adding that it will also continue to adapt its approach as needed.

The wider context

On a related note, Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists.

Going deeper, Today, we’re introducing a new Verified by Spotify badge, as well as additional details about artists’ activity (in beta) on Spotify.

On the substance, the new Verified by Spotify badge shows an artist profile has been reviewed and meets Spotify’s criteria for authenticity and trust.

Beyond the headlines, Good standing with Spotify’s platform policies: This means the artist and their content comply with our platform rules.

More precisely, it will be marked by “Verified by Spotify” text and a light green checkmark icon.

The bottom line

• Because Spotify is home to millions of uploaders and artist profiles, reviews and verification will happen on an ongoing basis to ensure accuracy and consistency.
• The blue “Verified Artist” checkmark that Spotify first rolled out in 2017 was meant to signify that an artist’s profile was claimed and actively managed in Spotify for Artists.
• Since then, several Spotify artists have similarly amassed millions of monthly listeners despite being suspected of being AI.
• Searches spiking right now: Introducing Verified by Spotify, a Signal of Authenticity and Trust for the Artists Behind the Music, Universal To Sell Part Of It’s Spotify Stake To Generate $1.4B, Spotify adds 'Verified' badges to distinguish human artists from AI, Spotify rolls out ‘Verified’ badge to distinguish human artists from AI.