Lorde has criticised Spotify over its AI-generated “About the Song” feature, calling for artists to be given the option to opt out after the streaming platform published an inaccurate description of one of her songs.
The New Zealand singer-songwriter shared her concerns on Instagram Stories after spotting an AI-generated summary attached to her 2025 track Current Affairs, arguing that the feature not only contained factual errors but also limited how listeners interpret music.
Lorde says Spotify’s AI feature got the song wrong
The AI-generated description referenced a live performance in which Lorde stripped to her underwear while a dancer poured water over her stomach. However, the performance being described was from GRWM, not Current Affairs.
Sharing a screenshot of the Spotify page, Lorde wrote:
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say we don’t want this.”
“Not only is this inaccurate (not the song I did that in) but reducing a song to an AI-generated meaning right at the source feels like it limits free interpretation imo (in my opinion). At least make it possible for artists to opt out please.”
The text had reportedly pulled information from a third-party article rather than being written or approved by the artist.
Spotify removes the AI-generated description
Following Lorde’s criticism, Spotify confirmed the description had been removed.
A spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter:
“About the Song is a beta feature that presents cited information from third-party sources.”
“We’re continuing to improve it based on feedback from artists and fans.”
Spotify also issued a statement to Pitchfork, defending the feature while acknowledging the mistake.
“We built ‘About the Song’ because fans want to dig into the stories behind the music. It’s still in beta. The info comes from articles across the internet, and when something’s off, we move fast to fix it, like we did here. Getting it right matters to us.”
Debate over AI in music continues
Lorde has previously spoken out about artificial intelligence and its growing role in the creative industries.
During her performance at Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, she criticised Meta’s AI smart glasses while addressing the audience.
“Increasingly, in our world, it gets harder and harder to know what is real.”
“Can I just say, for the record, f*** the glasses. Don’t get the glasses. Not sexy.”
Her latest comments come as more artists question how AI is being used across the music industry, particularly when it comes to creative work and artist rights.
SZA also criticised AI music training
Lorde is not the only artist to publicly oppose AI in music.
Earlier this year, SZA claimed she discovered that more than 200 of her songs, including what she believes may have been unreleased material, had been used to train AI systems without her approval.
She wrote on Instagram Stories:
“[Just] checked and music AI has trained off 238 of my songs. I’m certain some unreleased. If you’re a musician and you support this degenerate s***? You’re disgusting and there’s NOTHING YOU COULD EVER SAY TO ME TO MAKE THIS OKAY. I hope u have the life u deserve. (sic)”
