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Spotify introduces key update to identify real artists in the AI age

Spotify Introduces New 'Verified by Spotify' Badge

Spotify has announced a significant update to its app this month, aimed at offering listeners more insight and transparency. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly prevalent, the music streaming platform is introducing a new feature called the ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge. This initiative seeks to help users differentiate between real human artists and AI-generated content.

Over the coming weeks, Spotify users will start to see the new badge on artist profiles and next to artist names in search results. The badge will be marked with the text “Verified by Spotify” and a light green checkmark icon.

Why is Spotify Introducing the ‘Verified’ Badges?

Spotify explained that as music evolves, so do the ways in which users discover and connect with artists. In the AI era, it is more important than ever to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to. The company's focus is on providing users with more context about artists and their music, allowing for more meaningful connections.

Artist profiles are a key place to learn more about music and artists. The new ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge indicates that an artist profile has been reviewed and meets Spotify’s criteria for authenticity and trust. Artists who receive the badge will have consistent listener activity and engagement over time, good standing with Spotify’s platform policies, and signals of a real artist represented in the profile.

Spotify emphasizes that it will pair these standards with human review and judgment to identify real artists behaving in good faith. This approach goes beyond filtering out bad actors, giving users a more reliable signal of the authentic artistry behind the music.

The company claims that more than 99% of the artists Spotify listeners actively search for will be verified, representing hundreds of thousands of artists. Spotify will prioritize artists with active fan interest or those who have made important contributions to music culture and history, rather than functional music creators or content farms whose content is primarily designed for passive or background listening.

Given that Spotify is home to millions of uploaders and artist profiles, reviews and verification will happen on an ongoing basis to ensure accuracy and consistency. It also notes that not seeing the badge on an artist profile does not mean they won’t receive it in the future.

Additional Details About Artists’ Activity

In addition to the launch of the ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge, users will be able to see additional details about artists’ activity, which is currently in beta. Spotify explains that a new section across all artist profiles, regardless of their ‘Verified by Spotify’ status, will highlight key artist details such as career milestones, release activity, and touring activity.

This information helps users better understand and connect with the artist beyond the music. Much like nutrition facts offer a quick, reliable snapshot of what’s inside packaged food, these details—based on Spotify’s platform data—give meaningful signals of an artist’s authentic activity on Spotify, even for those who haven’t yet met the ‘Verified by Spotify’ criteria.

Users will begin to see this in the About section on mobile across artist profiles in the coming weeks, as well as by clicking ‘Verified by Spotify’ in the banner for verified artists.

Spotify UK Subscription Plans

At the time of writing, there are various UK Spotify subscriptions available, ranging from £5.99 to £21.99 per month. Here are the main options:

  • Premium Individual (£12.99 per month)
  • One Premium account
  • 15 hours/month of listening time from the audiobooks subscriber catalogue

  • Cancel anytime

  • Premium Student (£5.99 per month)

  • One verified Premium account
  • Discount for eligible students

  • Cancel anytime

  • Premium Duo (£17.99 per month)

  • Two Premium accounts
  • 15 hours/month of listening time from the audiobooks subscriber catalogue (plan manager only)

  • Cancel anytime

  • Premium Family (£21.99 per month)

  • Up to six Premium accounts
  • Parental controls for the plan manager
  • 15 hours/month of listening time from the audiobooks subscriber catalogue (plan manager only)
  • Ability to create accounts for listeners under 13
  • Cancel anytime

All Premium plans include ad-free music listening, lossless audio quality, the ability to download songs for offline listening, play songs in any order, listen with friends in real time, and organise listening queues.

What are your thoughts on the new ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge? Share your opinion in the comments below.