At a time when AI slop is flooding music streaming platforms, Spotify is beta testing a new “Artist Profile Protection” feature that will allow artists to review releases before making them public on their profiles. The idea behind this new tool is to give artists more control over which tracks are associated with their name on streaming services.
“Music is showing up on the wrong artist pages across streaming services, and the rise of easily produced AI tracks is making the problem even worse,” Spotify said in a blog post. “This is not the experience we want artists to have on Spotify, which is why we’ve made protecting artist identities a top priority in 2026. Today, we’re announcing a first-of-its-kind solution to a problem that has affected streaming for years.”
Beta artists can review and approve or reject releases delivered to Spotify. Only releases they approve will appear on the artist’s profile, contribute to statistics, and appear in user recommendations.
Spotify’s announcement comes a week after Sony Music said it had requested the removal of more than 135,000 AI-generated songs that impersonated its own artists on its streaming service.
Spotify says that while open distribution makes it easier for independent artists to release music, it also creates opportunities for mistakes and bad actors. Errors in metadata, confusion between artists with the same name, or malicious attempts to attach music to an artist’s profile can result in tracks being listed on the wrong artist’s profile.
“When that happens, it can impact your catalog, stats, release radar, and how fans discover your music,” Spotify explains. “We know how frustrating this is for artists and fans alike, and one of the most common requests we’ve heard from artists over the past year is for more visibility before their music is featured under their name.”
Spotify says the new feature isn’t necessary for all artists, but is designed for artists who experience repeated false releases, share a common artist name, or want more control over what appears on their profile.
Artists included in the beta will see this feature in their Spotify for Artists settings on desktop and mobile web. If you turn on Artist Profile Protection, you’ll receive an email notification with your name on it when your music is distributed to Spotify. From there, you can approve or deny the request.
