The creation of online music streaming changed the entire music industry, and Spotify’s boom shifted it even more. Spotify is not only the most popular, but also the most profitable streaming platform, generating 14.5 billion dollars of revenue in 2023 alone.
Though the service has garnered a cult following by many music enjoyers, it has not been free from criticism over the years. Well-known issues range from unfair compensation of musical artists, various security breaches in the 2010s, and the controversial nature of their most popular podcasts, such as Joe Rogan.
However, there is one topic that the platform has quietly been under fire for, from as much as a decade ago; something that listeners may be experiencing daily. Spotify has been criticized for allowing artificially generated music and artists to litter various playlists on the platform.
The alleged issue of music created by artificial intelligence or “fake musicians” has been discussed openly since 2016. Many music news outlets have reported that Spotify playlists contain hundreds of songs all written by the same person. Spotify released an official statement denying these accusations.
In recent years, the conversation has shifted to the possibility of AI artists. These songs have no lyrics and are on playlists created by Spotify like “Jazz Study” or “Deep Sleep.” Upon taking a closer look, many people noticed the lack of background information on these artists. Artists, who may be verified, accumulating hundreds of thousands of listeners monthly. This, of course, means revenue for the musician, but what does it mean if Spotify is behind these artists?
Thousands have taken issue with this possibility. With the creation of these fake artists, Spotify is able to mimic human artists without any compensation to an actual musician. This ends up shoving out performers with unique sounds and creative ideas.
“I feel like artists that actually put work and their heart into their music, it’s just kind of just shady to do”, says Teagan Grubb ‘27. “They’re doing all this work and all the music fake artists put on is the same song or AI generated, so it’s just a way to get money.”
The use of AI in music challenges the entertainment industry as a whole, as we have seen it affect the movie industry with the SAG-AFTRA strike. If a company believes they can run a computer program that can sound half as good as a real producer for 100% of the revenue, will musicians be shut out completely within a few years?
Spotify’s controversy additionally evoked feelings of distrust, since the platform never disclosed the possibility of AI generated music. “I feel cheated,” says Sydney Jenkins ‘27. There are countless groups that staunchly oppose the use of artificial intelligence, because of ethical or environmental reasons. These people could be unknowingly feeding into the AI craze by listening to jazz while on a run.
Opposing critics of AI’s involvement in entertainment is the party for AI powered media, who believe that this could be used as a tool for musicians to gain inspiration, and try more experimental methods. Music made with artificial intelligence can also be a way to reach different kinds of listeners.
“I think that if the music is original and not imitating other artists then it is no different than another company using AI to help create a new product,” says Dylan Macbride ‘27. “If it is quality music that people enjoy listening to more than real artists, you cannot blame Spotify for creating something successful.”
Most of the songs that Spotify has allegedly been creating are instrumental pieces for focus, sleep, or idle everyday activities. If the average listener is just looking for background music to write their Statistics report to, what is the harm?
On the question of whether this practice is ethical, some say that we cannot stop the movement AI has gained in the past few years. “I think it is ethical because you cannot stop innovation…there is still somebody going through the process and work to publish that music,” Dylan Macbride ‘27 says. The thought is that if AI is not sentient in the production and distribution of music, that there is still an element of creation.
Whether or not Spotify is truly taking advantage of AI to create music, AI has still thoroughly made its way into the app. For example, the creation of the “Spotify DJ” plays curated songs based on recent listening history and popular genres. Additionally, a new AI playlist feature can make a playlist with a single prompt. These two uses of artificial intelligence differ from the first not only the level of transparency, but the public’s thoughts.
Even though many people detest the idea of Spotify creating a playlist filled with instrumental generated music, there has been little to no criticism of the other features. Is it only ok for companies to use AI if they disclose it beforehand?
