Spotify says it has taken more than 50 million "slop and spam" tracks out of its recommendations in 2026, and counts removals from the service separately (more than 75 million). For producers, the useful question is no longer only "will my track be removed?" but "will anyone be shown it?"
Industryvia Spotify Newsroom
Daisy the Great say an app called ADHD Vision has spent months running ads with an AI-made track that keeps the melody of "The Record Player Song" and swaps in new lyrics. The law already covers a copied melody. What indie acts lack is a fast, cheap way to get an ad taken down.
Artist rightsvia Daisy the Great (Instagram)
Spotify now calls its 1,000-stream royalty threshold a "first line of defense" against AI-generated tracks, which it says are 10 times more likely to fall below it. The same rule decides whether a new human artist earns anything, and Spotify still keeps one of its two tests secret.
Industryvia Spotify Newsroom
Believe and TuneCore became the fourth licensor of Spotify's planned AI covers and remixes add-on on 20 Oct 2026, and the first to describe an artist-level, two-step opt-in. The earlier UMG and Kobalt announcements talk about "participating" artists without saying who makes that choice, and Merlin says artists get a choice without describing how. Price, revenue split and launch date are still undisclosed.
AIvia Spotify Newsroom
The American Federation of Musicians wants consent, credit and pay for AI training written into its next contract with Universal, Sony, Warner and Hollywood Records, which covers major-label recordings in the US and Canada. Talks resume on 3 November, while the union's lawsuit over the labels' Suno and Udio deals waits for a ruling.
Industryvia American Federation of Musicians
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