Spotify has come under severe criticism after artificial intelligence-generated fake songs were posted on the official accounts of the late artists without consent from their estates or record companies. The scandal has ignited a fiery argument over artificial intelligence, artists’ rights, and streaming platforms’ duty to safeguard artists’ reputation.
The scandal was revealed when fans and industry watchers saw that tracks created by AI were being posted on verified artist accounts, passing as real songs by artists who were killed years ago. The most egregious case was of Blaze Foley, one of the most popular country-folk singers who was brutally killed in 1989.
A song called “Together” last month suddenly popped up on Foley’s official Spotify account. The track featured piano and electric guitar with a male vocalist, but something wasn’t right. Craig McDonald of Lost Art Records, who oversees Foley’s catalog, recognized immediately that the song was a fake.
“It had none of Foley’s quirks and sounded like it was done by an AI schlock robot,” McDonald stated. The song was accompanied by an AI-created album cover with absolutely no resemblance to the actual Blaze Foley. Even more suspiciously, the credited artist was “Syntax Error” – a moniker now associated with a string of other suspicious releases.
When Algorithms Impersonate Artists and Challenge Copyright on Spotify and Beyond
The copied tune was not anything in Foley’s actual discography, proving this was not a lost recording discovered years later. It was pure artificial intelligence, created with no human involvement from the artist himself.
Unfortunately, Foley was not alone. Grammy-winning songwriter Guy Clark, who died in 2016, also saw a song written by AI posted on his official website. That song was tracked back to the same illegal sources that were used in the Foley incident.
These are a new phenomenon that are shocking the music industry. AI bands Velvet Sundown and AI-generated music by artists such as Suno or Udio are topping music charts, usually without anyone realizing that they are computer-generated.
Rights holders, record labels, and artist estates are understandably outraged. They are not only concerned about the technology itself but also about the absence of protection on streaming platforms. They are demanding mandatory marking of AI-generated works and increased policing of copyright and impersonation laws.
The estates of deceased artists contend that these illegal releases tarnish the reputations and legacies of their artists. Listeners can be deceived into believing they’re listening to original compositions, and royalties that could be earned by legitimate human creators could be watered down by counterfeit content.
There are also more general legal and moral issues over utilizing copyrighted content to teach music AI models and not compensating or asking permission when AI-generated content impersonates actual artists’ images.
Spotify’s Stance and the Future of Music Integrity
Following the outcry, Spotify took down the offending songs for violating its Deceptive Content policy, which forbids impersonation geared towards misleading listeners. The company resolved that it does accept AI music, but it has to adhere to some guidelines.
By Spotify’s rules, AI music is okay as long as the rightsholder has legitimate rights and the content isn’t impersonating a specific artist or otherwise violating platform policies. But the company’s content moderation technology has clearly lagged behind the readiness with which duplicitous AI songs may be uploaded at scale.
Following these incidents, Spotify reaffirmed its position of removing content that impersonates artists and warned repeat offenders would result in permanent distributor bans.
This scandal is only the tip of the iceberg. With even more advanced AI music technology and broader availability, the threat of abuse increases. Experts are demanding sweeping reforms, including stringent verification procedures, open disclosure mandates, and higher requirements for accountability on the part of distributors.
The age of streaming is at a turning point. As AI will make music-making more democratic, such cases reveal the need for stronger safeguarding of artistic integrity and artist identity from exploitation particularly when artists themselves can no longer stand up for themselves.
