The founder and Chief Executive Officer of music streaming giant, Spotify, has said that Artificial intelligence will drive more people to create music and should not be seen as a threat to the industry.
Speaking at an Open House event at Spotify’s headquarters in Stockholm, Ek addressed growing concerns surrounding the use of AI in music production.
Some worry that machine-generated tracks — even those attributed to entirely fabricated artists — could eventually sideline human musicians.
“I’m mostly optimistic and mostly very excited because we’re just in the beginning of understanding this future of creativity that we’re entering,” Ek told reporters.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and the book Mood Machine have accused Spotify of commissioning a small group of producers to create thousands of tracks under fake AI artist names. These songs were allegedly promoted through playlists, reportedly reducing royalty payouts by replacing genuine artists. Spotify has denied the allegations.
“We want real humans to make it as artists and creators, but what is creativity in the future with AI? I don’t know. What is music?” Ek said.
He drew comparisons to earlier shifts in the music landscape, recalling that electronic dance music, DJ culture, and hip hop — which embraced sampling — were once not recognized as “real music.” Highlighting the changing nature of music creation, he added: “Now, any one of us can probably create a beat in five or 10 minutes. The tools that we now have in our availability are just staggering.”
“Of course there are very scary potential applications for AI, but the more interesting thing for me is that the amount of creativity that creative people will have available at their fingertips is going to be insane,” he said.
“The barriers for creation are becoming lower and lower. More and more people will create,” he added.
Ek described the integration of AI into the music industry as “much more as an evolution than a revolution.”
Spotify reported 678 million active users at the end of March, including 268 million paying subscribers. The company, which recorded its first annual profit in 2024, now counts 100 million paying users in Europe alone.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt in my mind that the potential for Spotify at some point is to eventually get to over a billion paying subscribers,” Ek said.
