Artist and musician Brian Eno — who also composed the iconic Windows 95 operating system startup chime — called on Microsoft today to “suspend all services that support any operations that contribute to violations of international law,” saying the company plays a role in “surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine.” It’s the latest high-profile instance of the tech giant being pressed on its contracts with the Israeli government.

“I gladly took on the [Windows 95] project as a creative challenge and enjoyed the interaction with my contacts at the company,” Eno wrote on Instagram. “I never would have believed that the same company could one day be implicated in the machinery of oppression and war.”

The musician — who was a member of the influential rock band Roxy Music and has also had a long, storied solo career — specifically called out Microsoft’s contracts with Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Microsoft acknowledged last week that it has contracts with the Israeli government for cloud and AI services, but claimed that an internal review conducted found “no evidence” that its tools were used to “target or harm people” in Gaza.

Microsoft has been taken to task in recent weeks over its business dealings with the Israeli government specifically. The outcry over Microsoft’s contracts relates to Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza following the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack. Human rights groups, including commissions at the United Nations, have accused Israel of war crimes and genocidal acts in its military operation that has killed thousands; as of this month, the Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 52,000 deaths, though some researchers say that number could be as high as 109,000 people.

Some of Microsoft’s fiercest critics are its own employees opposed to the company’s ties to Israel.

Earlier this week during Microsoft’s developer conference, multiple onstage events were disrupted, including CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote speech on Monday. During the event, Microsoft employee Joe Lopez interrupted Nadella, yelling, “How about you show Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?” The following day, a protester described only as a “Palestinian tech worker” disrupted another executive’s presentation. On Wednesday, protesters disrupted a third session — and in the commotion, Microsoft inadvertently revealed internal messages regarding Walmart’s use of AI.

In April, Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad disrupted a 50th-anniversary event, calling Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman “a war profiteer.” Another employee disrupted a second Microsoft event the same day. The acts of protest were organized by the No Azure for Apartheid group, which calls for Microsoft to terminate contracts with the Israeli government and endorse a permanent ceasefire, among other demands. Aboussad was fired from the company; the second protester, Vaniya Agrawal, was dismissed early after putting in her resignation.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Eno, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who’s backed pro-Palestine efforts, said on Instagram he would use his original earnings from the Windows 95 startup chime to help “the victims of the attacks on Gaza.”

• Cassie is a singer and actor, best known for her top-10 hit single "Me & U."
• She met Sean Combs, aka Diddy, in 2006 and signed to his label Bad Boy.
• She filed a lawsuit against him in 2023 and is a key witness in his criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.

Cassie burst onto the music scene in 2006 with an irresistible blend of pop and R&B.

Although the singer, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, withdrew from the spotlight in the ensuing years, she's still beloved by fans of 2000s club jams.

In 2023, she filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, alleging abuse throughout their relationship, including rape. An attorney for Combs denied the allegations to Business Insider. Cassie is now a key accuser in Combs' criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, which began on May 12.

Here's everything to know about Cassie's career, her connection to Diddy, and what her life is like today.

Cassie broke out with the club hit 'Me & U'

Before launching her music career, Cassie had done some modeling for brands like Delia's.

In 2006, when she was 19 years old, she released her debut single "Me & U." It became her first hit, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100.

"Me & U" set the tone for her self-titled debut album, which was praised by critics for its "hypnotic groove" and "flippant playfulness." Rolling Stone later described the album as "the most brilliantly minimalist R&B album of its era."

In a positive review for Slant, Sal Cinquemani also said, "'Me & U' has single-handedly revived his ailing Bad Boy imprint," referring to Combs, then known as Diddy.

Cassie signed to Bad Boy Records in 2006

An archived feature from 2008 said that Combs heard "Me & U" in a club and felt inspired to help Cassie's career.

Combs teamed up with Ryan Leslie, who wrote and produced the song, to record Cassie's album.

In 2008, she announced her plans to release her sophomore album.

"I guess I grew up a lot but I'm still in essence the same person," Cassie, then 21, told Billboard. "Lots has changed in my life, stuff that has made me think about things differently. I'm more vulnerable and you can hear my vocals better this time around. There's real emotion and a much realer connection with my fans."

At the time, Combs praised Cassie's musical development, which he said was reflected in the album.

"We pulled out, we took our time, we developed her for like, a year-and-a-half," he told Billboard in a 2008 interview. "People are just going to see her there and be like, 'Wow, she's really cocooned into a butterfly.'"

However, the album was delayed several times. She didn't release new music until 2012, when she surprise-dropped a set of three mixtapes. She continued releasing singles sporadically in the years following.

Cassie has dabbled in acting

Cassie played Sophie in the 2008 film "Step Up 2: The Streets," and has also appeared in "The Perfect Match" and on several episodes of "Empire."

Additionally, she appeared in the 2022 TV movie "Hip Hop Family Christmas Wedding."

Cassie was in a tumultuous relationship with Diddy for over a decade

Prior to her lawsuit, gossip news sites reported that Cassie and Combs maintained an on-again, off-again relationship. They reportedly started dating in 2007 and broke up in 2018.

Cassie's 2023 civil lawsuit accused Combs of serious allegations, painting the music mogul as an extremely violent and angry ex-partner.

It details several instances when the music mogul physically and mentally abused Cassie, as well as used intimidation tactics to keep her in the relationship. Combs quickly settled the suit shortly after it was filed.

Combs has been accused of sexual assault, rape, drugging, and other forms of violence in more than 50 civil lawsuits. He was arrested in September following a grand jury indictment and has denied the charges against him and all other allegations of sex abuse.

Combs' criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial began on Monday. Cassie, the prosecution's key witness in the case, took the stand on Tuesday and Wednesday to testify against Combs.

Cassie married Alex Fine in 2019 and has three children

Following her split from Combs in 2018, Cassie began a relationship with Alex Fine, a professional bull rider, model, and personal trainer.

In June 2019, the singer revealed that she and Fine were expecting their first child together. The couple tied the knot in a small, surprise wedding in September of that year in Malibu, California. Their daughter, Frankie Stone, was born in early December.

Cassie and Fine welcomed their second child, a baby girl named Sunny Cinco, in March 2021.

In February 2025, Cassie revealed that she was pregnant with their third child, a son. While testifying Wednesday, Cassie's stylist, Deonte Nash, said he called Cassie to congratulate her on the birth of the baby, born Tuesday, about two weeks after Cassie testified against Combs.

Additional reporting by Laura Italiano.

Libby Torres contributed to an earlier version of this story.

The music-sharing platform SoundCloud quietly updated its terms of use in February last year, adding language that lets it train AI models on its users’ content, as TechCrunch reported. And while the company says it hasn’t used user-created content for model training, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that it will in the future.

Marni Greenberg, SVP and head of communications at SoundCloud, provided the following in a statement emailed to The Verge.

SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a “no AI” tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use.

Greenberg went on to say that SoundCloud’s terms of service update “was intended to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform.” She said the company uses AI for things like personalized recommendations and fraud detection, and suggests its plans for future uses of AI on its platform fall along similar lines.

When we asked about letting users opt out of having their music used for generative AI development, here’s what Greenberg had to say:

The TOS explicitly prohibits the use of licensed content, such as music from major labels, for training any AI models, including generative AI. For other types of content uploaded to SoundCloud, the TOS allows for the possibility of AI-related use. 

Importantly, no such use has taken place to date, and SoundCloud will introduce robust internal permissioning controls to govern any potential future use. Should we ever consider using user content to train generative AI models, we would introduce clear opt-out mechanisms in advance—at a minimum—and remain committed to transparency with our creator community.

Hopefully SoundCloud will go to greater lengths to tell users about those opt-out mechanisms than it appears to have done for last year’s AI-related terms of use update. Tech ethicist Ed Newton-Rex, who spotted the changes reported by TechCrunch, posted that they “can’t see any emails” alerting them that the terms had been altered. I’ve contributed to SoundCloud, too, and also didn’t find any emails about the changes when I checked. SoundCloud’s terms say it will provide “prominent notice” about significant alterations to its terms, but doesn’t guarantee you’ll see that in an email.

Here’s SoundCloud’s original full statement, as provided to to The Verge by Greenberg:

SoundCloud has always been and will remain artist-first. Our focus is on empowering artists with control, clarity, and meaningful opportunities to grow. We believe AI, when developed responsibly, can expand creative potential—especially when guided by principles of consent, attribution, and fair compensation.

SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a “no AI” tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use.

The February 2024 update to our Terms of Service was intended to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform. Use cases include personalized recommendations, content organization, fraud detection, and improvements to content identification with the help of AI Technologies.

Any future application of AI at SoundCloud will be designed to support human artists, enhancing the tools, capabilities, reach and opportunities available to them on our platform. Examples include improving music recommendations, generating playlists, organizing content, and detecting fraudulent activity. These efforts are aligned with existing licensing agreements and ethical standards. Tools like Musiio are strictly used to power artist discovery and content organization, not to train generative AI models.

We understand the concerns raised and remain committed to open dialogue. Artists will continue to have control over their work, and we’ll keep our community informed every step of the way as we explore innovation and apply AI technologies responsibly, especially as legal and commercial frameworks continue to evolve.

So a professional dominatrix specializing in foot worship signs into her YouTube account for the first time in seventeen years and compiles over 900 playlists, including the debut LP of progressive math-rock band 90 Day Men, an album from hyperpop/chiptune darling Saoirse Dream and portions of the original soundtrack from early 2000s anime Chobits. There's no punchline to that one. Let me explain.

Despite an entirely separate paid product — YouTube Music — vanilla YouTube's sometimes spotty enforcement of copyright has made it a goldmine for music, especially the kind that's niche, and possibly unavailable on legal streamers. Dedicated channels for screamo, doom metal or acid jazz, for instance, are regularly uploading rare releases, and searching for nearly any artist and "full album" will typically return the desired result no matter how obscure. In some cases, albums are uploaded as a single, lengthy video with timestamps indicating where one track ends and the next begins; in others, individual tracks are uploaded and compiled as playlists.

In recent months, however, countless tainted playlists have cropped up in YouTube search results. Engadget compiled a sample of 100 channels (there are undoubtedly many, many more) engaged in what we'll refer to as playlist stuffing. These had between 30 and 1,987 playlists each — 58,191 in total. The overwhelming majority of these stuffed playlists contain an irrelevant, nearly hour-long video simply titled "More."

Engadget

The robotic narration of "More" begins: "Cryptocurrency investing, when approached with a long-term perspective, can be a powerful way to build wealth." You'd be forgiven for assuming its aim is to direct unwitting listeners to a shitcoin pump-and-dump. But over the next 57 minutes and 55 seconds, it meanders incoherently between a variety of topics like affiliate marketing, making a website and search engine optimization. (Here's the entire transcript if you find yourself pathologically curious.) What's odd is there's no link to any scam page, no specific business the video directs a listener to patronize. Its description simply reads "Other stuff I've recorded and edited that I hadn't released until now, a special for my biggest fans with footage never seen before!"

For all its supposed advice on making easy money online, its best example isn't anything said in the video, it's that "More" has amassed nearly 7.5 million views at the time of this writing — and it's monetized.

It's far from the only video of its kind. Many longer albums, like Mal Blum's You Look A Lot Like Me, Titus Andronicus's The Most Lamentable Tragedy and Slugdge's The Cosmic Cornucopia are appear as stuffed playlists with "More," "Unreleased" and "Full Album." Both are similar marketing slop; they have 3.7 and 3.5 million views, respectively.

Unscrupulous artists also seem to engage, on a smaller scale, in a less obtuse sort of playlist stuffing. The channel Ultra Sounds has garnered 4.1 million views on its song "The Pause," after inserting it into — among other places — the Nine Inch Nails album Add Violence. Anastasia Coope's Darning Woman and 1991, an album by shoegaze pioneers Drop Nineteens, are not made better for the inclusion of Murat Başkaya, an apparent Turkish rapper. Electronic dance group The Daring Ones have added a few hundred thousand views to several of their tracks by stuffing them into a variety of playlists, including one of last month's new Viagra Boys record. Engadget attempted to contact these musicians on their content strategy but has not heard back.

"More" takes advantage of a very simple UI quirk. Besides there being no easy way to tell how many playlists a YouTube account has made (it loads them 30 at a time on scroll), search results show only the first two tracks of a given playlist. "More" is almost invariably inserted as track three. Unwitting listeners who click and tab away are greeted with irrelevant marketing jargon around seven minutes later — a scenario reflected in the often bewildered comments beneath the video.

Playlist stuffing would seem to contravene YouTube's policies on playlists and deceptive practices, which proscribe "playlists with titles or descriptions that mislead viewers into thinking they’re about to view videos different than what the playlist contains." A glance at the channel to which "More" was uploaded provides a hint that something more insidious is at play than just playlist stuffing for ad revenue.

"More" is not the only video on the channel Hangmeas. The channel description states "I produce my own custom music videos with footage I record around East Asia where me and the locals sing and dance to traditional music from their cultures," and sure enough its other two uploads are songs from Cambodian musicians — uploaded 18 years ago. The army of channels posting stuffed playlists containing "More" are all similarly ancient. One, kcnmttcnn, was created on December 26, 2005, only a few months after YouTube itself first launched. It now hosts over 900 playlists. The vast majority of channels engaged in this activity were created in 2006, and the youngest was claimed in February of 2009. In all likelihood, these accounts were abandoned long ago and have since been compromised, either by whoever is behind "More" or by a third party which sold access to these accounts to them.

Just like Hangmeas, several of these possibly compromised accounts have their channel descriptions, links — like the Myspace account for the aforementioned dominatrix — and old uploads intact. Viewing them in aggregate triggers a strange kind of melancholy, like finding the photo album of someone else's family in a thrift store. Here's two friends go-karting down a stretch of farmland; here's a girl sledding down a very short hill; here's 11 minutes off an online game of Uno; here's two girls trying on hats in a department store; here's Muse playing "Time Is Running Out" in Paris, 2006, rendered in such poor quality it could be literally any show at all. This one's just called "David." Its description reads "I'm cool."

Unfortunately none of these channels had extant contact information. It's impossible to know how the subjects of these videos feel about their old digital selves being leveraged for playlist stuffing. We can't even know how many of these people are still alive.

Somehow, a raft of accounts old enough to vote logged back in, probably from very different parts of the world than where they originated, and churned out playlists at a rate no human being could possibly hope to achieve. YouTube, it seems, did not find this suspicious. We reached out to YouTube for comment and did not receive comment by time of publication.

Yes, amateurish, nearly two decade-old footage harkens to a simpler time, when being able to upload a video that the whole world could see — though much more likely it would be viewed by a couple of your friends, and then one reporter 18 years later — was still exciting. But the history of the internet seems to be contained here: The simple joy of connection, neglected on a megacorp's servers, slowly co-opted by anyone trying to make a quick and dishonest buck.

Author's note: I've included a list of the potentially compromised accounts here; if you happen to be the owner of one of them, I'd love to hear from you.

Apple is launching a new global Viral Chart playlist in Apple Music that consists of tracks people are discovering through the company’s Shazam service. The playlist, which is updated daily, shows the top 50 songs people have heard playing out in the real world and have logged through Shazam. You can see charts on Shazam’s website as well.

The playlists use “Shazam’s data to offer a comprehensive view of today’s fastest-growing songs across the globe, David Emery, who works for Apple Music in the UK, says on Threads. Emery notes that charts reflect songs going viral on Shazam in “real time” and then ranks them based on “their weekly growth in Shazam volume.”

As of writing, the top viral songs in the list include Shake It To The Max (FLY) [Remix] by Moliy, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship, and Hot Together by The Pointer Sisters. On Shazam’s website, you can look at the rankings by country, if you’d like.

• A small fraction of all No. 1 hits have ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks or more.
• "Old Town Road" and "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" are tied for the all-time record with 19 weeks apiece.
• Listen to the complete playlist on Business Insider's Spotify.

The Billboard Hot 100 is widely considered to be the definitive all-genre singles chart in the US.

Since it was launched in 1958, well over 1,000 songs have reached the coveted No. 1 spot, but far fewer have reigned long enough to reach double-digit weeks — or, even more impressively, surpass that milestone.

According to Billboard, only 4% of all No. 1 hits have topped the Hot 100 for 10 weeks or more. All 46 songs that have achieved the feat are listed below, in chronological order.

1. "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone

"You Light Up My Life" was the first song in history to chart at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

2. "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John

"Physical" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

3. "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men

"End of the Road" charted at No. 1 for 13 weeks.

4. "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston

"I Will Always Love You" charted at No. 1 for 14 weeks.

5. "I Swear" by All-4-One

"I Swear" charted at No. 1 for 11 weeks.

5. "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men

"I'll Make Love to You" charted at No. 1 for 14 weeks.

7. "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men

"One Sweet Day" charted at No. 1 for 16 weeks, making Boyz II Men the first artist in history to earn double-digit weeks atop the chart with three different songs.

8. "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" by Los Del Rio

"Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" charted at No. 1 for 14 weeks.

9. "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton

"Un-Break My Heart" charted at No. 1 for 11 weeks.

10. "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112

"I'll Be Missing You" charted at No. 1 for 11 weeks.

11. "Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John

"Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight" charted at No. 1 for 14 weeks.

12. "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica

"The Boy Is Mine" charted at No. 1 for 13 weeks.

13. "Smooth" by Santana featuring Rob Thomas

"Smooth" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

14. "Maria Maria" by Santana featuring The Product G&B

"Maria Maria" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

15. "Independent Women, Pt. 1" by Destiny's Child

"Independent Women, Pt. 1" charted at No. 1 for 11 weeks.

16. "Foolish" by Ashanti

"Foolish" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

17. "Dilemma" by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland

"Dilemma" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

18. "Lose Yourself" by Eminem

"Lose Yourself" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

19. "Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris

"Yeah!" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

20. "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey

"We Belong Together" charted at No. 1 for 14 weeks.

21. "Gold Digger" by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx

"Gold Digger" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

22. "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce

"Irreplaceable" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

23. "Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain

"Low" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

24. "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas

"Boom Boom Pow" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

25. "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas

"I Gotta Feeling" charted at No. 1 for 14 weeks.

26. "We Found Love" by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

"We Found Love" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

27. "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell

"Blurred Lines" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

28. "Happy" by Pharrell Williams

"Happy" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

29. "Uptown Funk!" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

"Uptown Funk!" charted at No. 1 for 14 weeks.

30. "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth

"See You Again" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

31. "Hello" by Adele

"Hello" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

32. "One Dance" by Drake featuring WizKid and Kyla

"One Dance" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

33. "Closer" by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

"Closer" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

34. "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran

"Shape of You" charted at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

35. "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber

"Despacito" charted at No. 1 for 16 weeks.

36. "God's Plan" by Drake

"God's Plan" charted at No. 1 for 11 weeks.

37. "In My Feelings" by Drake

"In My Feelings" charted at No. 1 for 10 weeks, becoming Drake's third entry on this list. He holds the record for the most solo songs with double-digit weeks atop the Hot 100.

Drake also holds the record for the most No. 1 song debuts in history, with nine to his name.

38. "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

"Old Town Road" holds the record for the longest stretch at No. 1 with 19 weeks. It also became the fastest song in history to be certified diamond and won two Grammy Awards.

39. "The Box" by Roddy Ricch

"The Box" charted at No. 1 for 11 weeks.

40. "Butter" by BTS

"Butter" charted at No. 1 for 10 nonconsecutive weeks.

41. "Easy On Me" by Adele

"Easy On Me" charted at No. 1 for 10 nonconsecutive weeks, becoming Adele's second song to reach the milestone.

42. "As It Was" by Harry Styles

"As It Was" charted at No. 1 for 15 nonconsecutive weeks, the longest reign ever for a British artist.

43. "All I Want for Christmas Is You"

Nearly three decades years after its release, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" returned to No. 1 in December 2022 for its milestone 10th week atop the chart.

The holiday classic is Carey's third song to earn double-digit weeks atop the Hot 100, making her the third artist and first woman to achieve the feat thrice.

In 2024, the song experienced another holiday surge, earning its 18th total week at No. 1 and surpassing "One Sweet Day" as Carey's longest-reigning hit on the Hot 100. It trails the all-time record by just one week.

44. "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen

"Last Night" charted at No. 1 for 16 nonconsecutive weeks, despite Morgan Wallen's many controversies.

45. "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey

"A Bar Song (Tipsy)," Shaboozey's breakout hit, charted at No. 1 for 19 nonconsecutive weeks, the most ever among solo hits. It's tied with "Old Town Road" for the all-time record.

46. "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar with SZA

"Luther" was released as track three on Kendrick Lamar's album, "GNX," and originally debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100.

Shortly after Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show (which SZA joined to perform both "Luther" and their 2018 hit "All the Stars"), "Luther" rose to the top spot. It has dominated the chart for 10 consecutive weeks.

• Lana Del Rey has regularly faced backlash since early 2020.
• It all started when Del Rey posted an unprompted public statement defending her own reputation.
• After repeatedly doubling down, she's since been described as "the epitome of white woman feminism."

At the dawn of a new decade, Lana Del Rey seemed poised at the summit of the indie-pop mountain.

The songstress, now 39, was still riding the high of "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" — her career-topping sixth album, which was crowned as Pitchfork's best of 2019 and nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards.

As 2019 neared its close, Del Rey's first two albums, "Born to Die" and "Ultraviolence," both landed on several decade-end lists. She was named one of the decade's defining artists by Business Insider.

But shortly after, Del Rey's behavior began to make more headlines than her music.

Her reputation suffered a rapid downturn, thanks to a string of controversial public statements, questionable accessories, and a strong tendency to double down.

Many fans even said they'd "lost respect" for the singer, and she became increasingly described online as a "problematic white woman." More recently, Del Rey has faced backlash for leaning into what listeners have described as a "conservative Southerner vibe" with her music, aesthetics, and inner circle.

Keep reading for a timeline of her biggest scandals and inflammatory comments.

Note: This article has been updated since its original publish date.

May 2020: Del Rey posted an unprompted public statement about her own reputation

It all began on May 21, four months after the 2020 Grammys, when Del Rey shared a lengthy open letter on Instagram. 

Posed as a "question for the culture," Del Rey praised her own legacy and broadly described her critics as "pathetic."

"Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating etc," she wrote, "can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money, or whatever I want, without being crucified or saying that I'm glamorizing abuse?"

"I'm fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse," she continued, "when in reality I'm just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent emotionally abusive relationships all over the world."

She defended writing songs about being "submissive" in relationships, despite what she described as "a long 10 years of bullshit reviews."

"I also feel it really paved the way for other women to stop 'putting on a happy face' and to just be able to say whatever the hell they wanted to in their music," she wrote, "unlike my experience where if I even expressed a note of sadness in my first two records I was deemed literally hysterical as though it was literally the 1920s."

Del Rey concluded her statement by plugging her forthcoming poetry books, mentioning that she donates to "Native American foundations," and announcing a new album.

It remains unclear what triggered Del Rey's statement, or why she felt compelled to defend her music after months of glowing reviews.

Early in her career, Del Rey was seen as a controversial figure, but largely due to accusations of inauthenticity and artifice — especially because she orchestrated an aesthetic pivot after releasing a "flop" album under her birth name, Lizzy Grant.

Del Rey's tragic-glam persona that she introduced in the "Born To Die" era, which leaned heavily on images of white Americana, received far more scrutiny than her lyrics. She was also criticized in 2014 for telling Fader, "Feminism is just not an interesting concept."

Del Rey may have been reacting to a 2019 article from The Independent, in which writer Helen Brown "examines how easy it is to misread her lyrics as 'antifeminist'" — although Brown actually defends Del Rey's "sharp" songwriting and roundly praises her newest album.

Whatever Del Rey's motivations may have been, her 2020 statement was poorly received.

While some agreed she's been unfairly judged as "antifeminist" in the past, many were angry that she name-dropped other artists to make her point.

Additionally, six out of the seven people she mentioned were women of color, which sparked accusations of racism.

As Tulane University's Christine Capetola wrote, in addition to her reductive descriptions of their music, Del Rey "failed to recognize Black female artists' decades-long — and ongoing — struggle to express their sexualities on their own terms within the realm of pop music." 

Del Rey also implied that she's more "delicate" than her peers, and claimed that feminism is intolerant of "women who look and act like me."

"The optics of Lana, a white woman, complaining about feminism lacking space for her while critiquing the acclaim allotted to several Black pop artists is mortifying," Ashley Reese wrote for Jezebel.

YouTuber D'Angelo Wallace said Del Rey's album announcement was amplified by media coverage of the controversy. 

"Was Lana Del Rey profiting off Black outrage to sell her album? Yes," he said in a video titled, "Lana Del Rey has Lana Del LOST IT."

"I don't think she did it on purpose," he said. "But once she realized who she was making mad, and that it was getting her even more attention than she initially was looking for, she made four follow-up comments. And they were all about the outrage."

He added: "I'm just gonna be honest. This is where my respect for her started to dip."

Shortly after, Del Rey doubled down and insisted she's not racist

Del Rey's response to the backlash focused on her reasoning for naming specific artists.

"To be clear because I knowwww you love to twist things. I fucking love these singers and know them. #that is why I mentioned them," she wrote. "I would like to have some of the same freedom of expression without judgment of hysteria."

"I haven't had the same opportunity to express what I wanted to express without being completely decimated," she continued in a second comment. "And if you want to say that has something to do with race that's your opinion but that's not what I was saying."

"This is the problem with society today," she said in a third comment. "It's exactly the point of my post — there are certain women that culture doesn't want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don't know what it has to do with."

"I don't care anymore but don't ever ever ever ever bro- call me racist because that is bullshit."

"And my last and final note on everything," Del Rey wrote in a fourth comment, "when I said people who look like me — I meant the people who don't look strong or necessarily smart, or like they're in control etc. it's about advocating for a more delicate personality, not for white women — thanks for the Karen comments tho. V helpful."

However, Del Rey's comments struck many people as overly defensive, tone-deaf, and unproductive, rather than illuminating. 

"'Don't ever call me racist' is hands-down the single-most disappointing reaction to accusations of racism," Wallace said in his video. 

Black writers like Nichole Perkins and Roxane Gay also pointed out Del Rey's use of "coded" language and self-victimization.

Del Rey posted an additional statement on Instagram, accusing her critics of wanting a 'race war'

One day after her original post, Del Rey continued to insist that it "wasn't controversial at all," despite national news coverage and widespread backlash.

In her additional statement, she implied that Ariana Grande and Doja Cat reached out to express discomfort with her message.

But "despite the feedback," Del Rey doubled down once again.

"I want to say that I remain firm in my clarity and stance in that what i was writing about was the importance of self-advocacy for the more delicate and often dismissed, softer female personality, and that there does have to be room for that type in what will inevitably become a new wave/3rd wave of feminism that is rapidly approaching," she wrote, even though the third wave of feminism began more than 20 years ago.

"I'm sorry that the folks who I can only assume are super Trump/Pence supporters or hyper liberals or flip-flopping headline grabbing critics can't read and want to make it a race war," she continued.

She also accused her female critics of being "disassociated from their own fragility and sexuality" and wanting "drama."

"My aim and my message are clear. That I have control of my own story," she concluded. "If the women I mention don't wanna be associated with me that's absolutely fine by me."

Again, fans criticized Del Rey for dismissing feedback rather than engaging with it.

Many noted that Del Rey's repeated self-characterization as a "delicate" woman plays into racist stereotypes, which historically paint white women as more feminine or fragile — allowing them to escape accountability more easily.

It also highlights the idea that Del Rey is "playing the victim."

"Lana really wants to act like she's the most original artist playing the victim and honestly she's full of shit," one person wrote on X (then known as Twitter). 

She was also mocked for not-so-casually plugging her poetry book in the midst of her non-apology.

Del Rey made a further attempt to defend her open letter 3 days later — and compared herself to another woman of color

"In that post — my one and only personal declaration I've ever made, thanks for being so warm and welcoming — was about the need for fragility in the feminist movement," Del Rey said on May 25 in a six-minute video on Instagram.

"When I mentioned women who 'look like me,' I didn't mean white like me, I mean the kind of women who, you know, other people might not believe," Del Rey said in the video. "The difference is, when I get on the pole, people call me a whore, but when twigs gets on the pole, it's art."

She added: "The culture is super sick right now. And the fact that they wanna turn my post, my advocacy for fragility, into a race war — it's really bad. It's actually really bad."

She also expressed frustration that her letter received backlash, though she didn't address any of the specific criticism she received from artists and fans of color.

"It really, again, makes you reach into the depth of your own heart and say, 'Am I good-intentioned?' And of course, for me, the answer is always yes," she said. "I barely ever share a thing, and this is why."

Del Rey wrapped up by insisting that she's "not racist," plugging her poetry books, and refusing to apologize for her original statement: "Fuck off if you don't like the post."

Once again, Del Rey was perceived as being resentful towards successful women of color, ignorant of her own privilege, and determined to play the victim.

People were especially infuriated by Del Rey's mention of FKA twigs, a mixed-race singer, songwriter, and dancer.

Twigs has trained as a pole dancer and incorporated acrobatics into her art, as in her Grammy-nominated music video for "Cellophane." She has also incorporated the skill into live performances of "Magdalene," an album that explores the demonization of women throughout history and her own experiences with heartbreak and trauma.

Twigs also said that pole dancing helped her feel like her "strong self again" after she had six fibroid tumors removed from her uterus in 2018.

For her part, Del Rey portrayed a stripper in her 2013 short film for "Tropico," which was criticized for "appropriating Latino gangster culture."

"The fact that she said race war and doesn't see twigs as a fragile, delicate woman is... You're really making it worse," one person wrote. 

Another added: "You can hear FKA twigs' pain on 'Magdalene' period. I need Lana to stop bringing black women into her argument for creating a brand she cannot escape from."

Most fans (and former fans at this point) agreed that Del Rey's video "only made things worse."

"I didn't think she was this kind of person," Wallace said in his video. "Now I have the knowledge that Lana Del Rey is kind of ruthless in her pursuit of getting people to talk about her, and she doesn't seem to care who gets angry in the process, or even if what she's saying is right. So, that's a lot."

June 2020: She was called out by Black artists for sharing videos of protesters

During the wave of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, Del Rey shared two videos on Instagram.

According to Billboard, the first video showed a man holding a sign that read "no justice no peace," while the second showed people breaking into storefronts and running away with merchandise. She disabled comments on the post.

On X, Kehlani implored Del Rey to remove the videos because they showed uncensored faces and identifying features, which could lead to "dangerous" consequences for the protesters.

".@LanaDelRey please remove your instagram post it's dangerous as fuck and a very poor choice of moments to post," Kehlani tweeted. "by all means protest, but DO NOT endanger people with your very massive platform. oh and turn your fuckin comments on man."

Kehlani added: "it's about furthering endangering the lives of black people. it's about responsibility."

Tinashe echoed Kehlani's comments in a tweet of her own.

"@LanaDelRey why the fuck are you posting people looting stores on your page literally WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM," she wrote.

After Del Rey removed the video from Instagram, Kehlani and Tinashe both deleted their tweets.

October 2020: Del Rey came under fire after apparently wearing a mesh face mask

Aside from postponing her album, which was originally slated for release in September 2020, Del Rey remained fairly quiet in the wake of her divisive video — except to promote her aforementioned poetry book, "Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass."

In October, Del Rey hosted a book signing at a Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In videos and photos from the event, she appeared to wear a mesh-style face mask, which, according to the CDC's recommendations, would not effectively barrier respiratory droplets.

Fans left comments on her Instagram posts, which she has since deleted, begging her to wear a "real mask."

"I love you sis but please wear a real mask, it gives a bad message," one user commented on Del Rey's Instagram video.

"i love lana sm but what the frick is she doing ? the covid situation in the united states is worsening and she refuses to wear a proper mask, that really infuriates me," another fan wrote on X. "so many ppl have died there."

Others called Del Rey "selfish" and said they were growing tired of defending her.

The image of COVID-19 slipping through the holes in her mask also became a meme on social media.

Del Rey later said that her mask had a plastic lining, in response to a critical article in the Michigan Daily.

"The mask had plastic on the inside," Del Rey wrote. "They're commonly sewn in by stylists these days. I don't generally respond to articles because I don't care. But there ya go. Same goes for everyone's masks in my video. I'm lucky enough to have a team of people who can do that."

She also seemed to poke fun at the controversy in her music video for "Chemtrails Over the Country Club," in which she dons a nearly identical mask.

January 10, 2021: Del Rey unveiled the cover art for her new album — and preemptively defended it with a 'problematic' comment

The black-and-white cover for "Chemtrails Over the Country Club" shows Del Rey grinning and surrounded by friends, all huddled around a table.

Shortly after she shared the image, Del Rey commented on her own Instagram post with preemptive self-defense.

"No this was not intended — these are my best friends, since you are asking today," she wrote, although it's unclear who was asking. (This was written as a stand-alone comment, not a reply to anyone in particular.)

"As it happens when it comes to my amazing friends and this cover, yes, there are people of color on this record's picture and that's all I'll say about that," she wrote. "We are all a beautiful mix of everything - some more than others, which is visible and celebrated in everything I do."

"In 11 years working I have always been extremely inclusive without trying to," she continued. "My best friends are rappers, my boyfriends have been rappers. My dearest friends have been from all over the place, so before you make comments again about a WOC/POC issue, I'm not the one storming the capital, I'm literally changing the world by putting my life and thoughts and love out there on the table 24 seven. Respect it."

The following day, during an interview with BBC's Annie Mac, Del Rey said that "actually half the people in this photo are people of color."

"I just feel like if that's really what people are gonna say, I have an answer for them, which is that if you look closer, you will see people of color," she added. "It's a black-and-white image, so zoom in, you know. It's just weird, you know?"

Naturally, some people did make jokes about the cover's perceived lack of diversity, while others called the image "tone deaf."

But the real backlash came in response to Del Rey's comment, which was described as "textbook white fragility problematic white woman."

Del Rey's note about befriending and dating "rappers" was particularly provocative, since it implies that "rappers" is an ethnic category and reinforces the notion that Black friends can inoculate white people against racism.

Del Rey was also mocked for claiming that she's "literally changing the world" with her writing.

"We love her and understand her intentions but we cannot keep defending this shit," one fan commented on Del Rey's Instagram post. "That comment is so problematic in so many ways."

"I literally have her lyrics tattooed on my body but I'm also a political activist and I cannot defend this shit at all. I wish we could be excited about the album and only that but shit like this makes it hard to be," the fan continued. "Nothing about her statement is okay."

"If she's going to breathe life into [the] aesthetics of a time where racism was at one of its peaks, and not use her platform in the same breath to advocate today's issues properly, accurately, and tactfully. That's an issue."

January 11, 2021: Del Rey was criticized for saying Trump 'doesn't know that he's inciting a riot'

During an interview with BBC's Annie Mac, Del Rey compared President Donald Trump to "people who didn't know they hurt other people."

"You know, he doesn't know that he's inciting a riot, and I believe that," she said, adding that Trump has "delusions of grandeur."

Del Rey was referring to the violent riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when pro-Trump supporters stormed the building after attending a nearby Trump rally.

Five people died, and the outgoing president was impeached for "incitement of insurrection."

"The madness of Trump… As bad as it was, it really needed to happen. We really needed a reflection of our world's greatest problem, which is not climate change but sociopathy and narcissism," she said, per Complex. "Especially in America. It's going to kill the world. It's not capitalism, it's narcissism."

One person replied on X: "Lana stans gonna be doing some mental gymnastics to explain this one."

Del Rey then lashed out at 'larger magazines' for 'taking my well-intentioned and believe it or not liberal comments out of context'

The day following her interview with Mac, Del Rey responded to Complex's coverage of her comments.

"OK complex not that our 10 year relationship matters I guess," she wrote in a since-deleted post on Twitter, now X. "Thanks for the cool soundbite taken out of context, I said that the bigger problem is Sociopathy-so whether he meant to incite a riot is less important than the larger issue in America at hand -the problem of sociopathy."

"It's fucked up," she continued. "You know I'm real. You know I voted for Biden. I'm super steady in everything I've ever said. You probably listened to my entire interview. So whoever wrote this is a genuine piece of shit. I am the one helping bringing the problem with narcissism to light."

Hardly one to stifle momentum, Del Rey also responded to the Australian blog Tone Deaf, which had published an article criticizing the defense of her album cover.

"I'm actually not tone deaf, I don't think there's anything tone deaf about responding to questions about why there are only white women on a album cover when that's just not the case," she tweeted. "I'm not gonna let people say that some thing is what it isn't. You're jealous I get it."

In an additional (now-deleted) tweet, Del Rey added that her new music is "great" and described herself as "one of the only artists who is genuine."

Del Rey continued tweeting about her BBC interview, clarifying that she meant to criticize Trump's "significant lack of empathy" and "the issue of sociopathy and narcissism in America."

"I'll say it again I don't appreciate the larger magazines taking my well-intentioned and believe it or not liberal comments out of context," she wrote. "It's actually what I sing about quite often. It's what I've been condemned for saying."

She also expressed disdain for negative publicity, citing her "long term relationship" with magazines like Complex and Rolling Stone, calling the former "pathetic."

Uproxx's Steven Hyden described the now-deleted tweet as "a hilarious and illuminating snapshot of pop-star brain."

Indeed, Del Rey has lashed out at journalists and music critics in the past.

Back in September 2019, she tweeted her displeasure with Ann Powers' review of "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" for NPR — even though Powers described the album as "instantly compelling, a pro asserting her future spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

True to form, Del Rey doubled down with a video, in which she defended her comments about Trump and called out Complex again.

"I just wanna talk about a couple of things, some of the articles that are coming out today, about me thinking that Trump didn't mean to incite the riots," she began. "I think it's cute that that's the little takeaway that Complex gets from that — especially with our relationship over the last 10 years, obviously completely disregarded."

"I get it. I have something to say, and I don't just show up giggling and talking about my hair and my makeup," she continued. "I was asked directly political questions for over 40 minutes by the BBC Radio 1, and I answered them."

Many people saw Del Rey's tweets as another attempt to play the victim or another example of "white feminism." The term is used to describe performative activism that centers white people in the fight for equality, as opposed to intersectionality.

"Lana is beyond parody," one person wrote. "People are saying she's the epitome of white woman feminism and she defends herself with more white woman feminism."

 Others simply made jokes or said they'd lost patience with Del Rey's antics.

September 12, 2021: Del Rey deactivated her social media accounts

In a black-and-white video posted on Instagram, the musician thanked fans for their support and announced her decision to delete social media.

"I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow we are going to be deactivating my social media accounts, and that is simply because I have so many other interests and other jobs I'm doing that require privacy and transparency," Del Rey said.

"I'm still very present and love what I do. I'm absolutely here for the music. I'm also just going on some different endeavors and I want to say thank you so much for all the support and I do hope that you like the record," she added, referencing her eighth album "Blue Banisters," which was released later that same month.

Del Rey later became active again on Instagram, using the account handle @honeymoon, though her X account remains inactive.

March 24, 2023: She included a megachurch pastor's sermon on her new album, dividing fans

On Del Rey's ninth studio album, "Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd," track five is titled "Judah Smith Interlude."

The four-minute track gives an uninterrupted platform to Judah Smith, a preacher at the Christian megachurch Churchome. Smith, Del Rey, and producer Jack Antonoff are all listed as cowriters. 

Del Rey also thanked Smith in a Facebook post a few months prior, "for giving me good guidance" and "for letting me record a part of his sermon for this record."

In the song, Smith denounces "a life dominated with lust" and praises God as "the fascinating artist who fashioned it all."

"The Spirit of God says, 'I'll infuse you with desirеs for what you have and what's in front of you,'" Smith preaches.

As Them previously reported, many fans — especially those who identify as queer — were divided in their reactions to "Judah Smith Interlude." One X user called it "creepy," while another said, "it's giving conversion therapy cult leader." 

Indeed, Smith has reportedly made homophobic comments in the past. According to Marie Claire, he called homosexuality a sin comparable to "murder, rape, or living with your girlfriend" during a 2005 interview. (The interview in question isn't available online.)

Churchome is also associated with Hillsong, an Australian megachurch best known for attracting famous followers like Chris Pratt. In fact, Justin Bieber once led worship at Churchome, and Smith was featured on Bieber's 2021 EP "Freedom."

Hillsong has long been associated with anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ views. A report from NPR described it as "an ultra-conservative church with a dark past," including connections to pedophilia.

"I was uncomfortable. I'm not religious and thought it was weird to include. Considering who he is, it's very weird," one person wrote on Reddit. Another agreed, reasoning that Del Rey could have invented "a weird fake religious monologue" instead of "publicizing a real pastor that sucks."

However, some fans of Del Rey have defended "Judah Smith Interlude" as satirical or "ironic." As Coleman Spilde wrote for the Daily Beast, "Del Rey is exactly the type of person who would attend a celebrity-studded mega-church, both for a cleansing of the soul and to lambaste its intrinsic flamboyance with her friends."

"As a gay atheist that grew up in the Catholic Church, y'all are really bent out of shape over this," another fan commented in a Reddit thread. "I love how provocative this whole thing is and it's exactly why I love Lana."

June 24, 2023: Del Rey arrived 30 minutes late to the stage at Glastonbury, telling the crowd, 'My hair takes so long to do'

Del Rey is far from the only artist who's been late to headline a major festival. However, some people were frustrated with the explanation she gave for the delay.

"I was so fucking late that I am about to rush this set today," she told the crowd. "If they cut power, they cut power. I'm super fucking sorry. My hair takes so long to do. I love you to death. Let's keep on running the set as it's supposed to go."

As a result, Del Rey's microphone was cut off due to the festival's strict midnight curfew — although she encouraged the crowd to sing her final song, "Video Games," instead.

Despite some outrage directed at Glastonbury, many fans blamed Del Rey and said she lacked respect for the fans who came to see her perform.

Others described her performance as "chaotic" and "disappointing."

September 26, 2024: Del Rey married Jeremy Dufrene, an alligator tour guide based in Louisiana

About one month after Del Rey and Dufrene sparked romance rumors, paparazzi photos surfaced of the singer wearing a white gown at a public bayou in Des Allemandes, Louisiana.

People quickly confirmed that Del Rey and Dufrene tied the knot in the same place where Dufrene operates his swamp boat tours.

"Jeremy is the one and only. And amazing. And we're very happy," Del Rey later wrote on Instagram.

Fans were shocked and confused by the news of Del Rey's nuptials. For many, her marriage to Dufrene confirmed their suspicions that she has embraced a conservative lifestyle; unverified screenshots from Dufrene's public Facebook that appear to show support for Trump throughout the 2024 election. (Dufrene's social media accounts have since been set to private.)

Nearly three months after her wedding, Del Rey praised her husband as an "honest partner who has no skin in the game" during a speech at the Variety Hitmakers ceremony.

"It's super nerve-racking to have to hold onto an innocent perception of how things could go when you're in an industry where maybe your values or your morals don't quite match up with what's going on — especially when people think that you probably don't have any morals or values," she said, per Billboard.

Resharing a clip of her speech on X, Meghan McCain wrote: "Lana is code talking about being a conservative woman here. I know what I speak of."

April 25, 2025: Del Rey sang about kissing Morgan Wallen during her Stagecoach debut

Del Rey debuted several unreleased songs during her first-ever performance at Stagecoach, California's biggest country music festival.

One song, titled "57.5," includes an intimate lyric about the country musician Morgan Wallen, whose rise to fame has been marked by a string of arrests and scandals.

"I kissed Morgan Wallen / I guess kissing me kind of went to his head," Del Rey sang. "If you want my secret to success / I suggest don't go ATVing with him when you're out West."

Before delivering the lyric, Del Rey warned the crowd, "This is the last time I'm ever gonna say this line."

Del Rey's name-dropping of Wallen inspired a flurry of mixed reactions. Although the song depicts their encounter in a negative light, which many fans relished as juicy gossip, Del Rey seemed to know that willingly associating herself with Wallen — who's best known in liberal circles for flouting COVID-19 protocols and using a racial slur on camera — would invite attention, speculation, and possibly even backlash.

"Every couple months Lana has to remind y'all she's a conservative," one detractor wrote on X. Other posts referred to her as a "secret Republican" and "MAGA Del Rey." Over on Reddit, self-proclaimed former fans lamented the progression of her songwriting ("This can't be the same woman that wrote 'Cruel World'") and her recently countrified aesthetic ("This whole trad wife southern cosplay isn't really for me").

Reactions were similarly mixed on TikTok, where some people described the revelation as "iconic" and others as problematic. One video criticizing Wallen, Del Rey, her husband, and her fans has amassed over 64,000 likes.

"Y'all are about to call me 'the friend that's too woke' and I don't really give a shit, 'cause Lana Del Rey getting on that main stage and saying she kissed Morgan Wallen actually is that bad," the creator said.

Representatives for Del Rey have not responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Deezer, a Spotify alternative that launched in the US in 2016, shared on Wednesday that 20,000 completely AI-generated tracks are added to its music service on a daily basis, making up "over 18% of all uploaded content" the platform receives every day.

Like other streaming services, Deezer offers methods for independent artists to upload their own music without having to be part of a larger licensing deal with a record label. While that lowers some barriers, it also leaves the door open for music that isn't made by people at all. Clearly, people are taking advantage of the option.

Deezer introduced a tool for detecting and tagging AI-generated content in January 2025, when at the time, AI-generated music only made up 10 percent of uploads. The tool is helpful, but it feels like a stopgap until there's consensus on whether AI-generated tracks should be allowed to exist in the first place. AI companies contend that training on existing books, movies, music, and internet ephemera is "fair use," but many of the people who made that material feel differently. In terms of pushback, AI music startups Suno and Udio were sued by record labels for copyright infringement in 2024 and artists have spoken out about "unlicensed AI training" but there's yet to be ruling that sets the new legal standard. 

Deezer also isn't alone in dealing with an infestation of AI-generated content. It's well-documented at this point that Spotify has the same issue. Subscribers have highlighted dozens of instances of AI-generated tracks that were clearly uploaded to try and game Spotify's popular weekly playlists, and while Spotify has removed some copycat tracks when artists have complained, the company has no qualms with hosting AI music. 

"If creators are using these technologies — where they are creating music in a legal way that we reimburse and people listen to them — and are successful, we should let people listen to them," Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström shared on a Big Technology podcast episode from November 2024. 

Do you remember when sharing music on a website meant uploading MP3 files and dealing with clunky audio players? I sure do.

Thankfully, many streaming services have made it easier to share music online, and Spotify is leading the way. As one of the world’s largest music platforms, it offers straightforward embedding options that work well with WordPress.

As a music lover and WordPress user, I decided to look for the most reliable methods for adding Spotify content to WordPress sites. Whether you’re a music reviewer, podcast creator, or just want to share your favorite playlist, I will show you how to embed audio content without touching a single line of code.

In this guide, I’ll show you 2 easy methods to embed Spotify in WordPress. These are great options for sharing a single track, a full album, a podcast episode, or an entire playlist. 🎶

Why Embed Spotify in WordPress?

If you’re a musician or podcaster, then embedding Spotify content on your WordPress website is a powerful way to promote your work and connect with your audience.

Instead of sending visitors away to your Spotify profile, you can feature your music or episodes right where your fans already are – like on your podcasting website or the professional hub for your music.

That said, even if you’re not sharing your own content, adding Spotify embeds can still make your site more engaging. Whether you’re writing music reviews or curating playlists, embedding audio tracks can take your content to the next level.

And here are the types of Spotify content you can embed:

• Single tracks – Perfect for promoting your own music or highlighting a specific song.
• Albums – Great for showcasing full releases, especially for artists or music reviewers.
• Playlists – Share your favorite collections or set the mood with themed playlists.
• Podcasts – Ideal if you host a podcast and want to share episodes on your site.
• Artist profiles – Highlight your own Spotify artist page or feature others you support.

The best part? Spotify comes with easy embed links that you can use in WordPress.

How to Embed Spotify in WordPress

WordPress makes it easy to embed Spotify content right out of the box. You can simply paste a Spotify link into the content editor. WordPress will then automatically turn it into an embedded player within a Spotify block.

In this guide, I’ll cover 2 easy ways to embed Spotify in WordPress:

Both methods let you embed songs, albums, playlists, podcasts, or artist profiles without writing a single line of code!

Method 1: Embed Spotify Using the Spotify Block in WordPress (No Plugin Needed)

This is the easiest method because you just need to add a block in the WordPress block editor. It’s great for adding tracks, playlists, or podcast episodes directly to your posts or pages – no extra plugins needed.

Step 1: Find the Spotify Content Link

First, let’s get the Spotify content link.

You can start by opening the Spotify web player or desktop application to access its content (logging in is optional).

From the ‘Home’ screen, you need to use the ‘Search’ feature to find the content you want to embed. You can search by song title, album title, or artist name.

For example, I looked for Dream, Ivory’s artist page.

Just click on the relevant search result when it appears.

Once inside, you can click the three-dot button next to the ‘Follow’ button on the artist’s profile.

Next, hover over the ‘Share’ option and then click ‘Copy link to artist.’

If you want to embed a single track, then you can click on the three-dot button for a track.

Then, simply hover over the ‘Share’ option and click the ‘Copy Song Link’ button.

To embed a full album, scroll down the artist page to the ‘Discography’ section.

After that, just click on the album you want to share to open it.

You’ll see a three-dot button below the album name; go ahead and click it.

From here, you can hover over ‘Share’ and click ‘Copy Album Link.’

The process is pretty much the same for playlists and podcasts.

Just make sure you’re clicking the right three-dot button depending on whether you’re on a song, album, playlist, show, or artist page.

Step 2: Embed the Spotify Content into WordPress

Now, let’s add the link to your WordPress website.

You can embed Spotify content into any post or page. For this tutorial, I’ll show you how to do it inside a blog post using the WordPress block editor.

From your WordPress dashboard, let’s go to Posts » Add New Post or edit an existing post where you want the Spotify player to appear.

You can just paste the Spotify link straight into the editor. But I will also show you how to add the dedicated Spotify block.

In the editor, click the ‘+’ button to add a block.

Then, simply search for ‘Spotify Embed.’

Once you’ve found the ‘Spotify Embed’ block, give it a click to add it to the editor.

Now, you can paste the Spotify link you copied earlier into the block.

You can then click the ‘Embed’ button or press ‘Enter.’

WordPress will automatically fetch and display a live preview of the embedded player.

Before publishing, you might want to adjust the ‘Media settings.’ You can find this slider in the ‘Block’ tab on the right.

Turning on this setting helps the Spotify player look good on all screen sizes, which can help with mobile-friendly design.

When you’re happy with how the Spotify player looks, you can go ahead and click ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ to make it live.

Now, when visitors view your post, they’ll see a fully interactive Spotify player they can use to listen to the audio content directly.

Method 2: Embed Spotify Using the EmbedPress Plugin (More Customizable)

This method is ideal if you want more flexibility when embedding Spotify content. The EmbedPress plugin lets you customize how your music, playlists, or podcasts appear on your site without using any code.

You can control the size of the audio player and even make the content shareable on social networks. It’s also suitable if you’re using the classic editor because it doesn’t rely on blocks.

Step 1: Install the EmbedPress Plugin

To get started, you’ll need to install and activate the free EmbedPress plugin.

So, let’s log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins » Add New Plugin.

In the search bar, type ‘EmbedPress,’ then click ‘Install Now’ and ‘Activate’ when it appears.

Need help installing a plugin? Check out this step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Step 3: Copy the Spotify Content URL

For this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to find Spotify playlist and podcast links.

Let’s start by going to the Spotify web player or desktop application. You don’t need to be logged in to your account for this step.

Once inside, you can use the search bar at the top to find the Spotify playlist or podcast you want to embed.

On the results page, scroll down to the ‘Playlist’ section.

After that, go ahead and click on the playlist that you want to embed.

From here, you can click the three-dot button under the playlist name or near the ‘+’ button.

This will expand the menu where you can hover over ‘Share’ and click ‘Copy link to playlist.’

You can also go to an artist page, as they usually have a curated playlist.

For example, I went to Nina Simone’s artist page and scrolled down to find her ‘Artist pick’ playlist.

Once you’ve opened the playlist, just click the three-dot button near the title or the ‘+’ icon.

Then, hover over ‘Share’ and choose ‘Copy link to playlist.’

When it comes to podcasts, the process is pretty similar. Simply start by using the ‘Search’ feature to go to the podcast.

Once inside, you can click the three-dot button, hover over ‘Share,’ and click ‘Copy Show Link.’

If you want to share an episode instead, then you can scroll down the podcast page.

Then, click the ‘Share’ icon next to the episode you want to embed and copy the link.

The process is pretty much the same for songs, albums, and artist pages.

Just make sure you’re clicking the right three-dot button.

Step 4: Add the Spotify URL to WordPress Using the EmbedPress Block

Once you get your link, you can embed Spotify content into any WordPress post or page using the EmbedPress block.

To get started, you can create a new post by navigating to Posts » Add New Post. Alternatively, you can open the post where you want to embed the track, playlist, or podcast.

In the editor, let’s click the ‘+’ icon.

Then, you can go ahead and search for the EmbedPress block.

Once you’ve found the block, simply click on it to add it to the editor.

After that, paste your Spotify link into the block.

Don’t forget to click the ‘Embed’ button or press ‘Enter.’

EmbedPress will then instantly fetch the preview and display it right inside the editor.

Now, you will have access to extra controls for the audio player.

In the right panel, you can find the option to resize the player by adjusting its width and height.

Plus, you can enable social sharing to make your content more discoverable.

With this setting, you can choose whether to show the icons at the top, left, right, or bottom of the Spotify player.

EmbedPress Pro also allows you to change the color of the audio player and add a ‘Follow’ button. This can help you get more Spotify followers directly from your WordPress website.

When you’re done customizing, just click ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ to make it live.

That’s it! Your Spotify content is now fully ready to go on your WordPress website. 🎧

💡 Note: If you’re using the old Classic Editor, then you can simply paste the Spotify link into the Visual editor.

The EmbedPress plugin will automatically detect the URL and convert it into an embed.

Take It Further: Sell Your Tracks, Albums, or Sample Packs 💿

Embedding your tracks on your website is just one way to get more listeners.

If you’re a musician, then you can also sell your songs directly from your WordPress site — no middlemen, no platform fees. It’s a smart way to keep full control over your music, grow your fanbase, and earn more from every download.

The easiest way to do this is by using a plugin called Easy Digital Downloads.

Unlike general eCommerce plugins, Easy Digital Downloads is built specifically for selling digital products like MP3s. That means no extra setup for shipping or inventory — just the tools you actually need.

You can sell singles, full albums, or even sample packs with features like secure file delivery, discount codes, and customer management built right in.

For detailed instructions, you can see this guide on how to sell music online in WordPress.

Alternatively, if you want to sell physical music, like vinyl or CDs, then you’ll need a full store with shipping, tax, and inventory support. I recommend using WooCommerce because it’s the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress and makes it super easy to sell products online.

You can follow this step-by-step guide on how to start an online store to get started.

FAQs Around How to Embed Spotify in WordPress

If you’re just getting started or still have questions about embedding Spotify links, you’re not alone. Here are some common questions I often hear from WordPress users:

How do I embed a Spotify playlist into WordPress?

You can copy the Spotify playlist link and paste it into a Spotify block in the WordPress editor. WordPress will automatically convert it into an embedded player. Alternatively, a premium plugin like EmbedPress gives you more control over the audio player’s look and branding.

How do I add a Spotify podcast to my WordPress site?

You can copy the podcast episode or show link from Spotify and paste it into the Spotify block in the WordPress block editor. It will instantly turn into a playable embed. Using a plugin like EmbedPress will also allow you to control how the audio player looks and get more followers directly from your website.

How do I play background music on a WordPress site?

Most modern browsers limit autoplaying background music to protect the user experience, especially on mobile devices, where unexpected sounds can be intrusive. Similarly, WordPress also doesn’t support autoplay out of the box.

That said, there are more user-friendly ways to share background music:

• Use a plugin with a custom play button – Plugins like HTML5 Audio Player let you add a small play/pause button. You can place it in a header, footer, or floating sidebar so that visitors can choose to start the music.
• Embed Spotify or other music players – Instead of true background music, you can embed a playlist or single track using Spotify or another streaming service. Visitors can click play whenever they’re ready to listen.

I hope this article has helped you learn how to embed Spotify in WordPress and make your music website more interesting. Next, you can check out our guides on how to add MP3 audio files in WordPress or our expert picks of the best WordPress plugins for podcasters.

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The post How to Embed Spotify in WordPress (2 Easy Methods) first appeared on WPBeginner.