Songs like ‘I Still Breathe‘ or ‘I Loved Myself More‘, performed by Ruby Black, have dominated Spotify’s algorithmic charts in Spain for weeks. However, Ruby Black does not exist in the traditional sense; she is an artificial intelligence-generated singer distributed by a label named Silencio Capital, boasting over one hundred thousand followers on Instagram and releasing a new single every Thursday. Despite Spotify’s current efforts to curb this wave of synthetic artists, indications suggest that this trend is here to stay—and we may have inadvertently asked for it.
Who’s That Girl?
In April 2026, Ruby Black topped Spotify’s list of The 50 Most Viral in Spain. Her soul-infused ballads echoing popular trends in Spanish pop—characterized by themes of heartbreak and self-improvement—have catapulted her to success. Interestingly, even Google’s AI misrepresented her as a “human, not AI, singer” when queried about her, underscoring the blurry lines between reality and artificiality.
How Are the Machines?
The consistent release of Ruby’s singles exemplifies a factory-like approach to music production, requiring minimal costs and creating zero emotional ties with genuine artists. Ruby is not alone; other synthetic artists like Nyx Solaris have also made waves. However, Ruby’s advantage lies in her Spanish-language appeal.
There is AI but… How Much AI?
Deezer reported recently that it receives about 75,000 fully AI-generated tracks daily, accounting for 44% of all new content uploaded. In stark contrast, just over a year ago, this figure was only 10,000. Spotify has taken action, removing over 7.5 million AI-generated tracks in the year up to September 2025, many of which were tied to bulk generation tools from its vast catalog of approximately 100 million songs.
We Don’t Distinguish It
The challenge goes beyond merely ethical concerns; as a Deezer study found, 97% of participants could not differentiate between AI-generated and human-created music in blind tests. Furthermore, a staggering 80% indicated that artificial songs should carry clear labels, signaling a demand for transparency that platforms have yet to fulfill.
Step Forward from Deezer
Deezer has taken a proactive approach to this dilemma. In June 2025, it introduced a flagging system for albums of 100% AI-generated tracks and excluded them from algorithmic recommendations. By January 2026, Deezer started offering this technology to other platforms, having discovered that 85% of AI music streams were fraudulent, prompting its exclusion from royalty distributions.
Meanwhile, Apple Music rolled out Transparency Tags, a metadata system designed to help labels disclose AI involvement in various creative aspects. Spotify, in collaboration with DDEX, is working on a similar voluntary metadata system to clarify how AI has been utilized.
Spotify’s Latest Move
Spotify has also introduced a verification seal, ‘Verified by Spotify‘, to assert that human artists back each profile. However, the existence of Ruby Black reveals the limitations of this verification system—she meets all criteria necessary for a “real artist” label while being entirely synthetic.
The Root of the Problem
This issue didn’t begin solely with generative technology. Author Liz Pelly, in her work ‘Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist,’ has long documented how Spotify has engineered a lean-back listening model, prioritizing mood playlists and algorithmic suggestions that favor the most commercially viable tracks at the expense of genuine creativity.
The Instagram-Core
The trend is mirrored on Instagram, where a similar Instagram-core aesthetic has emerged, characterized by cohesive visuals and viral music. Ruby Black epitomizes what could be termed the Spotify-core: songs crafted to maximize engagement metrics by ensuring listeners hit the thirty-second threshold for counting as a stream.
Ultimately, while Spotify can delete millions of AI-generated tracks and implement anti-spam measures, as long as the algorithm continues to favor easy-going, generic music that requires minimal attention, Ruby Black and her kind will remain prominent figures in a concerning trend that has been developing for years.
Ultimately, the call for transparency and the establishment of mechanisms to filter out AI-generated songs will only grow louder. As the music industry continues to evolve, how will platforms respond to the growing concern over authenticity and creativity?