Spotify Purges 75 Million AI-Generated Tracks in Massive Spam Crackdown

AI flood and the big cleanup

Spotify has removed 75 million tracks over the past year that it classified as spam, a dramatic cleanup meant to curb an explosion of low-quality, AI-generated music. The company says the purge is part of an effort to stop bad actors from gaming payments and overcrowding user playlists with filler content.

How the spam was made and why it mattered

Many of the removed tracks were not casual experiments. According to reporting, they were produced at industrial scale: low-fidelity audio stitched together by algorithms and uploaded to exploit streaming payouts. The tactic was effectively the musical equivalent of junk mail, a way for faceless operators to scrape fractions of a cent from millions of plays.

Artists, labels, and imitation wars

This is not an isolated problem. Recent incidents showed AI tracks mimicking major stars, which sparked outrage and legal concerns. Labels and artists worry that convincing imitations could slip into the mainstream undetected, raising questions about copyright, attribution, and how to protect creative labor in a world where machines can imitate voices and styles.

Regulation and platform response

Lawmakers are starting to take notice. Proposed measures would force clearer labeling of AI-created content so listeners can choose whether to support it. Spotify says it is improving detection systems and tweaking payout rules to prevent genuine artists from being drowned out. But enforcement remains difficult, as detection advances are met with ever more sophisticated attempts to evade them.

The creative side of AI

Not all AI use is malicious. Independent artists and producers are experimenting with AI as a collaborative tool: generating riffs, testing lyrics, and inventing fresh soundscapes. The same technology that enables spam farming also opens new creative possibilities, and that tension complicates any simple regulatory or technical fix.

What this means for listeners and creators

The purge is a clear signal that platforms will push back against monetized spam, but it also highlights a deeper cultural question. Will listeners care whether a track was made by a person or a machine, so long as it resonates? Or will audiences insist on human authorship as a marker of authenticity? The answer will shape how music is made, valued, and discovered in the years ahead.