Spotify

Apple Music to require ‘Made With AI’ labels on songs

Apple Music announced Thursday that it will mandate "Made With AI" labels on songs created using generative artificial intelligence, making visible to listeners a tagging system that has operated behind the scenes since March 2026.

Spotify to label AI-generated artists, cut them from recommendations

Spotify announced on August 11 that it will begin applying an "AI Persona" badge to artist profiles whose public identities appear to be generated by artificial intelligence, with the labels becoming visible to listeners in mid-September 2026. The move marks…

Spotify to label AI artists, ban them from recommendations

Spotify announced on Tuesday that it will begin labeling AI-generated artist profiles with a new "AI Persona" badge and exclude their music from algorithmic and editorial recommendations by default, the company's most aggressive move yet to combat the flood of…

Spotify hits 300M subscribers but shares slide on weak Q3 guidance

Spotify reported second-quarter 2026 earnings on Tuesday, reaching a historic milestone of 300 million Premium subscribers — a first for any audio streaming service — but shares fell roughly 5% in premarket trading after the company issued third-quarter profit guidance…

Spotify purged 75M tracks in crackdown on AI-generated music spam

Spotify has removed more than 75 million tracks flagged as spammy or abusive AI content from its platform over the past year, the company confirmed this week, as the streaming giant contends with an industrial-scale wave of artificial intelligence-generated music…

BTS drops “Normal” music video on Spotify ahead of World Cup halftime show

South Korean supergroup BTS released the official music video and a Korean-language version of their track "Normal" exclusively on Spotify on Friday, July 17, timed to build momentum ahead of the group's co-headlining performance at the FIFA World Cup 2026…

Spotify launches narrated magazine articles for audiobook subscribers

Spotify on Tuesday announced a new content format — narrated long-form magazine articles — available to audiobook subscribers across its 22 supported markets, marking the streaming platform's latest effort to expand beyond music and podcasts.

AI-generated ‘podslop’ now accounts for 39% of new podcasts

A torrent of AI-generated podcasts is overwhelming listening platforms, with new data showing that nearly four in ten new shows added to podcast directories over a recent nine-day period were likely created by artificial intelligence. The phenomenon, dubbed "podslop," is…

Bieber overtakes Bruno Mars as Spotify’s No. 1 artist

Justin Bieber has overtaken Bruno Mars to become the most-listened-to artist on Spotify globally, reaching a career-high 138 million monthly listeners as of May 2, 2026. The milestone caps a streaming surge that began after Bieber headlined Coachella in April,…

Kanye West’s ‘Bully’ hits 33M Spotify streams on day one

Kanye West's long-delayed twelfth studio album, "Bully," earned 33.2 million streams on Spotify in its first day of availability, making it the third-biggest rap debut on the platform in 2026, according to streaming tracker Hip Hop All Day. The total…

Spotify launches tool letting artists block unauthorized releases

Spotify on Tuesday launched Artist Profile Protection, an optional feature that lets artists review and approve music releases before they appear on their profiles, addressing the escalating problem of misattributed and AI-generated tracks flooding streaming platforms.

BTS comeback album ‘Arirang’ tops 4M sales, sweeps Spotify charts

BTS has returned to the global stage with force. The K-pop group's fifth studio album, "Arirang," released on March 20, racked up 110 million streams on Spotify globally in its first day, making it the most-streamed album in a single…

Spotify unveils tool letting users edit their Taste Profile

Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström used a keynote appearance at SXSW in Austin on Friday to unveil a beta feature that, for the first time, will let listeners view and edit the algorithmic Taste Profile that drives their personalized recommendations. The…

Rihanna surpasses Taylor Swift as Spotify’s top female artist

A decade after releasing her last studio album, Rihanna has overtaken Taylor Swift to claim the title of the female artist with the most monthly listeners on Spotify, reaching approximately 105.9 million listeners as of this week. The milestone places…

Spotify Wrapped returns with multiplayer games, new features

Spotify officially launched Wrapped 2025 on December 3, introducing nearly a dozen new features aimed at making the annual music recap more interactive and personalized after facing criticism over last year's AI-heavy edition.

Rosalía breaks Spotify record with 42M streams in 24 hours

Spanish pop star Rosalía shattered Spotify's streaming record for a female Spanish-language artist on November 7, when her fourth studio album *Lux* accumulated over 42.1 million streams in its first 24 hours on the platform. The release surpassed the previous…

Spotify audiobook listeners jump 36% in second year

Spotify marked the two-year anniversary of its audiobook service with impressive growth metrics, reporting a 36% increase in listeners and 37% rise in listening hours over the past year. The milestone comes as the streaming giant simultaneously announced a new…

Jisoo becomes first Korean female soloist to hit 1B Spotify streams

BLACKPINK's Jisoo has made history by becoming the first Korean female solo artist to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify, achieving this milestone in record time with just eight solo tracks. The accomplishment, confirmed Tuesday by her agency Blissoo, was…

Taylor Swift breaks streaming records with ‘Life of a Showgirl’ album release

Taylor Swift's highly anticipated 12th studio album "The Life of a Showgirl" shattered multiple streaming records within hours of its October 3 release, cementing the pop superstar's continued dominance in the music industry while launching her most glamorous era to…

Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ sets Spotify pre-save record

Taylor Swift has once again rewritten the record books, with her upcoming album "The Life of a Showgirl" becoming the first Spotify countdown page to surpass five million pre-saves in the platform's history. The achievement, reached just days before the…

Spotify removes 75M tracks, unveils AI disclosure standards

Spotify announced sweeping changes to its artificial intelligence music policies on Thursday, implementing new safeguards against deepfakes and spam while revealing it has removed over 75 million problematic tracks from its platform in the past year. The streaming giant's three-pronged…

Spotify launches global project documenting Afrobeats evolution

Spotify has launched "Afrobeats: Culture in Motion," a comprehensive global project documenting the genre's remarkable evolution over the past five years. The initiative includes a new documentary following next-generation Afrobeats artists and features an immersive microsite breaking down the movement's…

Massive Attack pulls music from Spotify over Gaza, AI weapons

British electronic duo Massive Attack announced on September 18, 2025, that they are removing their entire catalog from Spotify and joining the "No Music for Genocide" campaign, becoming the most prominent artist to date to take such action in protest…

Spotify secures direct licensing deal with Sony Music

Spotify and Sony Music Group have reached a new multi-year global licensing agreement that encompasses both recorded music and publishing, marking a watershed moment as the streaming giant now holds direct licensing deals with all three major music companies. The…

Sabrina Carpenter breaks Spotify record with new album

Sabrina Carpenter's seventh studio album "Man's Best Friend" broke Spotify's record for the most-streamed album in a single day by a female artist in 2025, racking up 64.4 million streams on its debut day after being released on August 29.…

Swift’s new album breaks Spotify pre-save record

Taylor Swift's upcoming 12th studio album *The Life of a Showgirl* has shattered Spotify's record for most pre-saved album countdown page in the platform's history, achieving the milestone on August 31, 2025—more than a month before its October 3 release…

The Weeknd makes streaming history with ‘Blinding Lights’

The Weeknd's hit single "Blinding Lights" reached a historic milestone on August 31, 2025, becoming the first song ever to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify. According to Spotify's official announcement, this achievement solidifies the track's position as the most-streamed…

Apple radio stations launch on TuneIn amid Spotify pressure

Apple AAPL has launched its six commercial-free radio stations on TuneIn for the first time outside its own ecosystem, marking a strategic move to regain market share against rival Spotify SPOT as competition intensifies in the music streaming industry.