Spotify says more than 50 million AI spam songs removed from recommendations

Spotify announced on 20 October 2026 that more than 50 million songs it labels “AI spam” have been cut from its recommendations, according to Billboard. Those come on top of the more than 75 million tracks removed from the service entirely.

The company said it combines several tools to spot such songs: upload patterns, metadata, third-party AI detection software and listener engagement and feedback. Spotify tightened its AI policies in September 2025, when it reported the removal of 75 million tracks. Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s head of music, said at the time the company was not out to punish artists using AI “authentically and responsibly”, but to stop bad actors gaming the system.

In April the platform introduced “Verified by Spotify”, a badge identifying human artists. According to the new update, more than 300,000 artists have been verified, 70 percent of them independent. In August Spotify followed with an “AI Persona” badge for AI artist profiles, which officially rolled out in mid-September and keeps labelled profiles out of personalised recommendations.

At the same time, Spotify is developing its own AI remixing tool. Universal Music Group, Merlin and Kobalt were among the first labels and publishers to license their music for it, and Believe signed on on 20 October.