Spotify's not only unashamed of putting AI slop on playlists but now has 20+ AI tracks on their Vietnam War Music list, [View all]

[highplainsdem]

all from the apparently nonexistent band Velvet Sundown, which has been getting media attention for sudden popularity even though no one heard of them before 2025 and analysis shows their music is AI-generated.

DU threads about their music in Music Appreciation

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1034147409

and in the Lounge:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10182193873

I posted a YouTube comment in both from someone responding to Rick Beato's technical analysis showing Velvet Sundown's music is AI, a comment helping explain how this nonexistent band suddenly had so many listeners:

Spotify seems to be actively pushing this “band.” I have a playlist called “Vietnam War Music” that I listen to frequently. About two weeks ago, all of these songs by The Velvet Sundown start being played. Like, a lot. Every fifth or sixth song. I’d never heard of them, and it sorta sounded 60s’ish, but something was definitely off. So I googled them and found they’re from, wait for it, 2025. Spotify has them slammed ALL OVER that playlist now (they weren’t as of three weeks ago). Clearly, Spotify is involved.

I don't use Spotify, but I got the link for that playlist today via a MusicRadar article from June 27.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/62wW67yRcDrZunRQlgzsqU

You'd think that after days of negative publicity about this AI slop being added to popular playlists, including one where it clearly doesn't belong because it sure as hell isn't Vietnam War Music, Spotify might've removed that dreck.

But no, there are more than 20 Velvet Sundown tracks on the list still today - fake music from a fake band - jammed in there between classics from the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and all the other artists you'd expect to find. None by Velvet Sundown in the first 20 or so tracks, so if you started listening there wouldn't seem to be anything odd about the playlist.

And then Velvet Sundown tracks, again and again, taking up space that would otherwise have included music Spotify would have to pay royalties for.

The odds are they aren't paying any royalties on this fake music from a fake band. There's been evidence Spotify is creating its own AI music to add to playlists and cut out real artists. Rick Beato and Ted Gioia talked about this last year in an interview that quickly went viral.

But this replacement of more than 20 tracks of a popular playlist with AI slop is the most obvious example yet.

The most blatant test of whether their subscribers will listen mindlessly to whatever AI slop is offered them, at least if there's some real music around it.

If that wasn't Spotify's intent, this AI garbage from 2025 would be off that playlist by now.

I noticed at the top of the list Spotify says it's bringing you the most popular songs from the Vietnam War era "plus some modern Rock pick too" - and since I never saw the list till today, I don't know if that modern-rock loophole was always there, or if that sort of thing is common with Spotify playlists, to let them add songs that don't really belong. But while skimming down that list, I didn't see a single artist who didn't belong, other than the fake band Velvet Sundown. So someone at Spotify apparently invested some time and money generating and curating AI slop they hope will save them a lot of money if people are gullible enough to accept it as a substitute for real music from real artists.

If you use this Spotify list - or God only knows how many others - you're being conned into being an unthinking consumer of AI slop, so Spotify can avoid paying royalties and deprive real artists of attention and royalties.