Can’t Tell if a Spotify Release Is Legit? The Music Streamer Is Testing a New Artist Tool to Help

As a Spotify listener, you may have experienced moments where you couldn’t tell if your favorite artist really dropped a new song. If you’re an artist, maybe your music has been attached to the wrong profile or someone’s else release attached to yours.

On Tuesday, Spotify shared that it’s testing a new feature called Artist Profile Protection that allows artists to preapprove releases before they show up on their profile to help manage what’s connected to their name. 

The tool, currently in beta for a select group of artists, is completely optional. Should an artist choose to opt in, the artist will have the chance to review each potential release and decide to accept or decline it. Once the artist approves a drop — essentially authenticating it — it will appear on the artist’s profile, and according to Spotify, it will “count toward their catalog, stats, and recommendations.”

For listeners, this will make it easier to tell if you’re clicking on a legit release from an artist you know and listen to. The tool can let artists protect their work and vouch for accuracy — that it’s the correct name on the profile, correct title and overall, a trustworthy release — not bogus AI slop being used to trick fans into unknowingly listening to a fake.

Artists who don’t want to enable the feature will notice the music release process will continue to flow as-is, meaning it goes live without preapproval.   

Last year, Spotify implemented policies aimed at AI deepfakes and fraud to help crack down on digital identity theft. In an age when we’re listening to AI-generated music or using apps that use AI to customize our experience, protections can be useful.