Spotify co-chief executive Alex Norström has defended the company’s expansion into artificial intelligence-generated music, arguing that “controlled” products offer a better alternative to the unregulated AI “slop” already spreading online.
“There’s a lot of rogue attempts at this,” Norström said, referring to tools to make music with artificial intelligence (AI). He said Spotify wants to be “the one that’s legal” and “the one that’s controlled”.
On Thursday, the company struck a deal with Universal Music that will allow subscribers to create AI-generated covers and remixes of songs from participating artists.
The tool – which will cost extra money – would allow “one song to become 10,000 songs” inside Spotify’s app, Norström told investors, as part of a raft of announcements that sent the stock up 18 per cent. The companies have not disclosed how much the feature will cost on top of a standard Spotify subscription.
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While Universal has previously reached AI deals with smaller start-ups, Spotify is the first major streaming platform to launch a commercial AI music product with label backing. The agreement marks a significant moment for the music industry, with the dominant streaming service now openly embracing AI-generated music.
Norström acknowledged there was a growing backlash from artists and listeners over “AI slop” flooding digital platforms.
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“There’s some negativity out there about AI, for sure,” he said. “I think it’s reasonable because some of it is misaligned AI.”
But Norström argued that Spotify’s licensing agreements, recommendation systems and artist verification tools would help distinguish its approach.
He said Spotify and Universal Music had spent time negotiating the agreement through “several discussions”. “We had to kind of find our way there,” he said, describing the deal as a “win-win situation” for Spotify, artists and rightsholders.
Norström said Spotify wanted to avoid the kind of AI-driven experiences that “make you feel good in the moment” but ultimately leave users feeling they had “wasted” their time.
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The deal comes at a sensitive moment, as creative industries fear that AI could undermine human work. Last week producer Jack Antonoff slammed what he called the “new ways you can fake making art”.
In the US, unease over AI has intensified in recent months, with protests erupting over new data centres and students booing references to artificial intelligence at university commencement ceremonies.
Spotify last month introduced a verification badge intended to distinguish human artists from AI-generated content after “we heard the industry”, Norström said.
“There’s a lot of AI slop out there. I mean, fraud and abuse, we’ve been fighting forever,” he added.
Universal, the largest record label, which is home to artists including Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga, has licensed its music to several AI groups in recent months, including Udio, Klay Vision and Stability AI.
Despite growing competition from start-ups, Norström argued Spotify’s scale and industry relationships gave it an advantage.
“Compared to a start-up ... our investment per subscriber is essentially going to be minuscule,” he said. “Scale begets scale here ... winners win more.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
