Sony Music alleges to has requested the removal of 135000 AI fakes of songs by its artists.
Sony Music have shone a spotlight on the growing issue of AI fakery in recorded music, saying they have requested streaming services to take down 135,000 AI-generated songs falsely attributed to its artists.
According to the BBC, Sony Music made the announcement at the launch of the Global Music Report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in London earlier this week.
How the industry is going to tackle to increasing proliferation of music made by generative AI, along with the intellectual property issues associated with, seems to have been a topic of much discussion at the event, in particular the subject of streaming manipulation.
In essence, streaming manipulation as it currently stands involves fake artist profiles loading songs created with generative AI onto streaming sites in order to garnish royalty payments. By posing as a major artist and timing their fake releases to coincide with upcoming albums, tours, and events, they can get the attention – and streams – of eager fans.
Sony Music said that 60,000 of the songs they flagged were detected in the last 12 months, and calls the practice “direct commercial harm to legitimate recording artists”. High profile artists who were impersonated include Beyoncé, Queen, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, and Mark Ronson.
Sony president of global digital business Dennis Kooker said, “In the worst cases, [the deepfakes] potentially damage a release campaign or tarnish the reputation of an artist.”
The challenge lies in streaming companies effectively and transparently detecting and labeling AI creared music. Kooker highlighted the French streamer Deezer as one who currently had systems in place dedicated to the job. Damningly, it seems 34% of submitted songs are flagged as the product of AI.
“Without proper identification, fans can’t distinguish between genuine human creativity versus unauthorised, AI‑generated content,” he said. “Which risks creating confusion, undermining trust, and impacting user experiences.
“Transparency shouldn’t be optional, it’s the foundation of a fair and sustainable music ecosystem.”
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