We Analysed More than 2 Million Tracks on Spotify to Find Out if Its AI Is ‘Killing’ Australian Music

Why It Matters

The bias skews discovery toward dominant markets, reducing growth opportunities for Australian musicians and homogenising global music culture. Understanding this dynamic is crucial for artists, labels, and platforms seeking a more equitable streaming ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• AI playlists use 25% as many unique tracks as editorial
• US artists dominate AI recommendations, 77% established
• Only 22% Australian tracks are from established artists
• AI playlists mirror US listening patterns in all markets
• Emerging Australian musicians get less discovery via AI

Pulse Analysis

Spotify’s algorithmic recommendations have become the primary gateway to music for millions of listeners, yet their design prioritises engagement over cultural diversity. The recent Victorian Music Development Office study leveraged Chartmetric’s real‑time data to examine over two million tracks, comparing AI‑curated and human‑edited playlists across the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Jamaica. By quantifying track uniqueness and artist establishment status, the research provides a granular view of how AI reinforces existing market hierarchies, especially the dominance of U.S. superstars.

The findings reveal a stark concentration effect: AI playlists draw from only a quarter of the unique tracks found in editorial collections, and 77% of the U.S. songs they surface belong to legendary, superstar or mainstream categories. In Australia, merely 22% of AI‑recommended tracks are from similarly established artists, leaving the remaining 78%—often emerging or independent acts—largely invisible to the algorithm. This creates a feedback loop where popular U.S. music becomes the global norm, marginalising regional sounds and perpetuating a "rich‑get‑richer" dynamic that hampers new talent from breaking through.

For industry stakeholders, the implications are twofold. Artists and labels must diversify promotion strategies beyond algorithmic playlists, leveraging curated editorial lists, social media, and live performances to gain traction. Meanwhile, platforms like Spotify face growing pressure to redesign recommendation engines that actively surface under‑represented creators without sacrificing user satisfaction. Adjustments such as incorporating geographic relevance or weighting emerging artists could foster a more balanced ecosystem, preserving both listener engagement and cultural plurality.