Spotify Removed 50 Million AI-Generated Songs Over the Year

Spotify removed 50 million AI-generated songs from its recommendations in 2026. The information was released by the company on Tuesday (20), in a post on the official For the Record blog, in which it details the measures taken to combat the inappropriate use of AI and the spread of spam on the platform.

According to Spotify, the changes were implemented over the past six months after the company identified which tracks were being ignored by listeners or reported as unwanted content. "A clear pattern emerged: these tracks were consistently ones identified as slop or spam. Over the past six months, we’ve made numerous updates to our recommendation system to remove slop and spam, and surface more music made by authentic, human artists".

The 50 million songs, however, were not removed from the catalog. They remain available for anyone who wants to search for them, but they no longer appear in the service's algorithmic and editorial recommendations. In addition, the platform completely removed more than 75 million tracks identified as spam.

Spotify also announced measures to increase transparency regarding the use of artificial intelligence in music, including information in track credits about which elements were produced using the technology. Another initiative involves so-called AI-generated artist profiles, which now receive specific identifiers and are excluded from recommendations unless the user follows these profiles.

The company also allows artists to control which songs using their names appear on their pages, in an attempt to curb AI-modified versions and unauthorized publications. Spotify also revealed that songs generated by artificial intelligence are ten times more likely to not reach the minimum of one thousand plays required to generate royalties on the platform.

“This work is not finished,” the company stated, acknowledging that those responsible for abusive practices also adapt their strategies as technology advances. “But as AI makes music more abundant, we believe listeners will value human artistry even more”, the platform added.