Sony Music is escalating its battle against streaming fraud, reporting it requested the removal of over 260,000 AI-generated tracks impersonating artists like Harry Styles and Adele by September. This figure nearly doubled the 135,000 targeted by March. The company warns that “generative AI deepfake tracks” harm artists, mislead fans, and undermine ethical AI use. These deepfakes target major acts including Britney Spears, Queen, and Michael Jackson.
The issue extends to bulk AI tracks designed for bots to generate fraudulent royalties, potentially costing the industry $2.2bn annually. Dennis Kooker of Sony Music notes fraudulent streams could represent 10 per cent of all tracks. French service Deezer reports 90,000 AI songs uploaded daily, with 85 per cent of fully AI-generated streams being fraudulent. Sonic Intelligence Academy found 92.8 per cent of AI tracks used Suno, while Distro Kid distributed over three-quarters.
Sony and Universal Music are suing AI companies like Suno for copyright infringement. A Suno spokesperson called the labels’ claims “fundamentally flawed.” Campaigner Jamie Njoku-Goodwin described the situation as an “epidemic,” urging action against platforms enabling organized fraud.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Résumé par HeadlinesBriefing