- A Spotify user has developed their own AI song filtering software
- It has been downloaded by hundreds of users, but its creator warns that it may violate Spotify’s terms of service
- Over the past 12 months, Spotify told us it removed ‘over 25 million AI tracks’
AI-generated music is a growing frustration for users of Spotify and other music streaming services — and now one Spotify user has taken matters into his own hands.
To combat the flood of AI songs plaguing their algorithm, software developer Cedrik Sixtus has built an ‘AI blocker’ that tags and filters AI-generated tracks from their listening sessions. Since developing the tool, Sixtus has shared it online, where it has been downloaded by hundreds of users via Spotify’s web platform.
Speaking to the BBC, Sixtus summed up the purpose of his filter tool simply, saying “it’s about choice – if you want to hear AI music or if you don’t”. He also told the BBC that using his software “may violate Spotify’s terms of service” – so you might want to proceed with caution if you’re thinking of installing it, or a similar block.
So how does the tool work? The main purpose of Sixtus’ AI blocker is to filter out a list of over 4,700 ‘artists’ suspected of being AI. This registration is based on community tracking methods and factors in other characteristics such as album art and how often music is uploaded to the purported artist’s profile.
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While users like Sixtus are actively trying to extinguish the AI flames, big dog Spotify has yet to clearly label AI-generated songs, which Sixtus finds the most frustrating part.
Spotify has just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and to mark the milestone I spoke with Sten Garmark, the company’s Head of Consumer Experiences at Spotify. As part of our discussion, he teased the company’s future development plans, which include new measures to combat the rise of AI uploads.
Garmark told me that Spotify removed “over 25 million AI tracks” in the last year, and emphasized the company’s ongoing commitment to tackling the problem. “We have anti-impersonation rules and we’ve also helped create new protectionist mechanisms for artists so they can more securely control what goes on their platform,” he added.
At the same time, Spotify has refrained from punishing artists who use AI as a creative tool in small doses, and a lack of clarity about where it draws the line is one of the problems with its AI filtering system – and it is one of the reasons why loyal subscribers are slowly losing trust in the service, argues Sixtus. “[Spotify] have to figure out what listeners want and how artists feel—all while AI improves, becomes more widely used, and becomes harder to detect,” he shared.
Not only are the number of AI-generated uploads increasing, the technology used to create AI songs is becoming more and more accessible, meaning that pretty much anyone can create a song, and an AI persona is one of them.
In the current UK iOS App Store charts, AI music generator Suno is in first place in the music category, ahead of Spotify in third (Global Player is second). If major streaming platforms don’t start pushing to strengthen their AI filters now, it gives developers of software like Suno more time to perfect their technology and fool more music fans – and we could quickly find that we’ve passed the point of no return.
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