Spotify has introduced Artist Profile Protection, a new tool designed to prevent incorrect or unauthorized releases from being linked to an artist’s profile.

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The feature, currently available through a limited beta, allows selected artists to review and approve releases before Spotify officially connects them to their profile.

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The problem with misattributed releases

Songs appearing on the wrong artist profile is nothing new.

It can happen because of metadata errors, artists sharing the same name, or releases being incorrectly matched during the distribution process.

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But there is another issue as well: content being deliberately delivered under another artist’s name or identity. Spotify acknowledges that this has become increasingly relevant with the rise of AI-generated music.

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A misattributed release can affect far more than how a catalog looks. It can also impact an artist’s stats, recommendations, and discovery tools such as Release Radar.

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How does Artist Profile Protection work?

Once an artist enables the feature, Spotify may ask for approval before linking certain releases to their profile.

Artists will have three options:

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Approve the release.
The music will be linked to their profile as usual and can be included in their stats and recommendation systems.

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Reject it.
The release will not be associated with their profile.

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Take no action.
In this case, the release will not be automatically linked either.

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Because of this, Spotify points out that enabling the feature also means keeping an eye on incoming approval requests. A legitimate release could be delayed if it is not approved in time.

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A new way to work with trusted partners

Artist Profile Protection also introduces a feature called Artist Key.

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This is a unique key that artists can share with trusted labels, distributors, or other authorized partners.

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When one of those partners delivers a release using the key, Spotify can recognize it as coming from a trusted source, meaning the artist does not need to manually approve every new release.

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It introduces an interesting shift in the relationship between artists, distributors, and platforms. Authorization no longer depends only on names and identifiers being correctly matched, but also on a trusted relationship established in advance.

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More control over an artist’s digital identity

Artist Profile Protection addresses an increasingly important question across the digital music ecosystem: who should be allowed to release music under a particular artist identity?

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Until now, many attribution issues were corrected only after a release had already appeared on the wrong profile. With this feature, Spotify is trying to step in before that happens.

That does not necessarily mean rejected content will disappear from the internet.

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Spotify makes clear that preventing a release from being associated with an artist’s profile on its platform does not stop that content from appearing on other services.

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What it does introduce is something new: giving artists greater control over what Spotify recognizes as part of their catalog before a problem occurs.

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For now, Artist Profile Protection is available only to a limited group of artists. Spotify will continue testing and developing the feature before deciding how broadly to roll it out.

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As more music is released every day, and artist identities become easier to misuse, replicate, or confuse, protecting an artist profile is no longer just a matter of accurate metadata. It is increasingly about identity, authorization, and control.