Spotify’s AI downfall debacle has dragged on longer than it should have, and even though the company has implemented measures to counter the spread of AI-generated music, some users are still brandishing their pitchforks and torches at the controversy.
I came across a recent Reddit post on the r/truespotify forum that drew attention to the page of artist Selah Stone, an obviously AI-generated artist. But it wasn’t the artist the poster had a problem with; Instead, they decided to shade Spotify, claiming that the platform has been “creating fake bios and images to hide AI artists and further confuse users.”
Now, I’m all for pushing the best music streaming services to tighten their AI detection measures, but what the user addressed is completely out of Spotify’s purview, and I’m not the only one who thinks these conspiracy theories are getting tiring.
Although the decline of AI is becoming more evident to some users (I haven’t encountered it), Spotify is not the one who uploads AI-generated music, nor does it create the artist profiles that accompany it. Every song and album uploaded to Spotify is an action taken by the artist and their team, or in the case of an AI artist, the person sitting behind that facade.
The thing to remember is that Spotify does not accept direct music uploads. When an artist (human) shares music on Spotify (or any music streaming platform), everything is processed through their label or distributor. Additionally, since Spotify launched its new ‘Verified by Spotify’ tags for artist profiles, another layer of assurance has been added that the artist you’re listening to is not AI.
The same applies to AI artists, and even the music they generate can’t go directly to Spotify. Similarly, they will also need to use a distributor, some of which are common, including DistroKid and Ditto Music, but the blame doesn’t end there.
Another AI conspiracy doing the rounds is that Spotify is making more profits by allowing users to hoard loads of AI-generated music. This is not the case due to how Spotify’s payment and royalty system works.
All subscriber fees are put into a pool, and from there, artists with the highest streaming numbers receive a larger portion of those payments. While it’s not the fairest way to pay artists (even if you don’t stream Taylor Swift, your money will go to her and not necessarily the artists you actually listen to), and it puts independent artists at a disadvantage, AI-generated artists aren’t making much money, although they do occupy spots where human artists should be, something I agree needs to be fixed.
Additionally, Spotify paid 70% of its annual revenue in 2025 to artists and rights holders, so most of the money it makes from subscriptions goes directly back into the industry, with the rest invested back into the company.
I don’t think these types of complaints are the real reasons why users get upset. Instead, I think it’s Spotify’s transparency issues that cause much of the frustration for users. But because the platform hasn’t been the most transparent about AI music, annoyance among users has reached a boiling point, leading them to come up with ridiculous conspiracies, and now they’ll point fingers anywhere to find new reasons to blame Spotify for the growing presence of AI.
Like many users in the Reddit responses, I also agree that Spotify needs to do a lot more to brand AI-generated music. I think that while the platform has tried to do some good with its online reporting resources and the new Verified by Spotify badges for artists, other services got there first.
However, the accusations must stop at some point, and those promoting conspiracy theories must provide clear evidence to support their claims or remain silent.
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