Spotify—AI-generated band 'Velvet Sundown' received Spotify verified badge and over 1 million streams
In mid-2025, an AI-generated music project called 'Velvet Sundown' accumulated over 1 million streams on Spotify and received a verified artist badge, despite being entirely created by artificial intelligence without human musicians. The case highlighted Spotify's inadequate systems for detecting and labeling AI-generated content, raising concerns about AI music displacing human artists and misleading listeners about the nature of what they're hearing.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Transparency | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Intellectual Property Ethics | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.322 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.57)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (1 signal)
Guardian report on AI-generated band gaining verified status and millions of streams on Spotify
The Guardian reported on how an AI-generated music project received Spotify's verified artist badge and accumulated over 1 million streams, exposing gaps in the platform's ability to detect and label AI-generated content.