Spotify to Label AI Artists with AI Persona Badge, Keep…

Spotify has introduced an AI Persona badge initiative designed to provide listeners with greater transparency regarding whether an artist's public identity is AI-generated rather than human. Starting in mid-September, the badge will appear on relevant artist profiles, with music from these personas being excluded from personalized recommendations by default.

What happened

The initiative follows a series of incidents involving AI-generated artists on the platform, including the emergence of Sienna Rose. Between September and December 2025, Rose released 10 albums and placed three songs on Spotify’s Viral 50 charts before concerns were raised regarding the artist's authenticity. This incident followed the discovery of a King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard clone in December 2025.

Spotify’s new policy focuses exclusively on an artist’s public identity, such as name and imagery, rather than the use of AI in the music creation process itself. The company will conduct reviews of profiles that appear to represent photorealistic AI-generated identities, beginning with artists who meet a specific audience threshold. Identified artists will be notified and given the opportunity to self-disclose their status or appeal the classification.

This move aims to increase trust on the platform, building on previous efforts like AI Credits and SongDNA, which relied on voluntary disclosure. Spotify has previously stated that it removed over 75 million spammy tracks in the year leading up to September 2025 and is actively strengthening policies against AI bad actors. The streaming platform's approach contrasts with competitors like Bandcamp, which has banned music generated by AI, and TIDAL, which blocks royalties for tracks identified as fully AI-generated.