Spotify Shares Update on ‘AI Spam,’ Says 50M Songs Have Been Removed From Recommendations

Spotify released a follow-up on the status of removing what it has dubbed “AI-spam” songs from the streaming platform on Tuesday (Oct. 20), with the company announcing more than 50 million songs have been cut from recommendations. Spotify says those 50 million songs are in addition to the more than 75 million tracks that have been removed from the service altogether.

The company shared it’s combined several tools to determine “AI-slop” songs, including upload patterns, meta data, third-party AI detection tools and listener engagement and feedback.

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In September 2025, Spotify tightened its AI policies and said it had removed 75 million AI songs from the platform.

“I want to be clear about one thing,” Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s head of music, said in a press briefing at the time. “We’re not here to punish artists for using AI authentically and responsibly. We hope that artists’ use of AI production tools will enable them to be more creative than ever, create more content that excites fans and offer the best possible experience on Spotify. But we are here to stop the bad actors who are gaming the system, and we can only benefit from [the] good side of AI if we aggressively protect against the downside.”

Over the last year, Spotify has launched several programs to help with combatting AI on the streaming service. In April, the company announced the launch of a verification badge that distinguishes human artists called “Verified by Spotify.” According to the company’s update on Tuesday, more than 300,000 artists have been verified, and 70 percent of those artists are independent.

In August, Spotify followed up by creating an “AI Persona” badge to label AI artist profiles. The new feature officially rolled out in mid-September, and precluded artists branded with the label from being included in personalized recommendations on the platform.  

While the streamer has been doubling down on AI efforts to help prevent bad actors, Spotify has also been working on an AI remixing tool of its own to embrace the technology. Universal Music Group, Merlin and Kobalt were among the first labels and publishers to license their music for the tool, with Believe also joining on Tuesday.