Spotify is moving from labeling AI-made content toward labeling AI-made performers. TechCrunch reports that the company announced Tuesday it will begin applying “AI Persona” profile tags to artist pages that represent AI-generated identities rather than real people. The Verge similarly reports that Spotify will badge artist profiles that do “not represent a real person.” The rollout is set to begin in mid-September, according to both outlets. TechCrunch says the badges will appear on the artist profile banner, in the About section, in Search, and on track rows across playlists. The Verge says artists can begin disclosing that they are an AI persona starting today, but Spotify will not treat self-identification as the only signal. Spotify will also review artist profiles directly. TechCrunch reports that the company will look for profiles whose names and imagery appear to represent photorealistic AI-generated identities, beginning with profiles that meet pre-defined audience thresholds so higher-listened profiles are reviewed first. The Verge adds that Spotify says it will use human review and AI tools in that process, and that profiles meeting defined audience thresholds will be prioritized. The policy has a distribution consequence, not just a disclosure consequence. TechCrunch reports that Spotify will, by default, exclude AI Persona profiles from editorial and algorithmic recommendations, as well as users’ personalized recommendations. The exception, according to TechCrunch, is when a user follows an AI Persona profile — an explicit signal that the listener wants to hear more from that artist or group. The Verge also reports that music from AI personas will not appear in editorial suggestions or personal recommendations by default. Spotify is framing the badge as a judgment about the public identity attached to a profile, not a determination about how the tracks were made. TechCrunch says Spotify clarified that the badge concerns whether the artist profile represents an actual human, not whether the music involved AI tools. The Verge makes the same distinction, reporting that the new labels pertain to artist identity rather than the creation process behind the music. Both outlets report that artists will have a path to challenge the label. TechCrunch says artists will be able to appeal if they believe the AI Persona tag was applied incorrectly. The Verge says Spotify will notify artists when it places a “Likely AI Persona” badge on their profile and will give them the ability to appeal. Both also report that Spotify plans to add a feature allowing listeners to flag profiles that may be AI-generated identities. The move comes as streaming services face a rising volume of AI-generated music. The Verge notes that Deezer has said AI-generated tracks now account for half of its daily song uploads. TechCrunch places Spotify’s new policy in the context of its broader AI rules, including prior policies around AI music labels and bans on unauthorized AI voice clones and deepfakes. The two sources describe Spotify’s broader AI-music identification capabilities differently, so the clearest supported point is narrower: this new policy targets whether an artist profile presents an AI-generated persona as its public identity. Who benefits: Human artists and artists using verified real identities benefit from Spotify’s stated preference for elevating authentic artist profiles in recommendations. Listeners who do not want AI-generated personas in their recommendations also get a clearer default experience. Who's exposed: Profiles built around photorealistic AI-generated artist identities are exposed to labeling, reduced recommendation reach, and user reporting. Artists or distributors that believe they were mislabeled will need to use Spotify’s appeal process.