Verified by Spotify is expanding to podcasts, so you can avoid low-quality slop

If you listen to or create podcasts on Spotify, there’s good news for you. Spotify is taking steps to allow podcast creators to establish their identities and gain the trust of their listeners by expanding its verification program and adding its Verified by Spotify badges on eligible podcast shows.

The verification program originally came into effect late last month, when Spotify started verifying real artists on the platform. At that time, the platform was limiting the badges to music artists. Today’s announcement expands that status to podcast creators.

Listeners will begin seeing the verified badges on select Spotify podcasts today, and the rollout will continue over the coming months. In order to be eligible for the verified status, podcasts will need to have a combination of sustained listener activity, verified audience authenticity, and compliance with Spotify’s policies.

Spotify’s verified status won’t just help creators establish their identities; it will also let users know they are listening to content that is authentic and trustworthy. Basically, the streaming service wants to help you avoid AI slop and low-quality content by highlighting content from verified creators.

When Spotify announced the verification program for music artists last month, the streaming service mentioned that AI profiles weren’t eligible for verification. Today’s announcement, however, reiterates that the platform will also take down podcasts that impersonate other creators using AI voice cloning and other methods.

This obviously doesn’t mean that podcasts created with AI are no longer welcome on Spotify. In fact, the blog post specifically states that “AI can open up new creative possibilities,” and Spotify recently launched a dedicated tool to upload AI podcasts for personal listening. However, it does mean that using AI to clone or impersonate creators is a no-go, and Spotify will take stronger steps to take down such content.

It’s worth noting that content that impersonates other creators has never been allowed on Spotify. Today’s announcement clarifies that using AI voice cloning and other similar technology is also not allowed on the platform.