What happened
SoCal reggae act Stick Figure's 2019 single "Angels Above Me" was AI-manipulated into "Run Run River," which gained tens of millions of streams and hit No. 2 on Shazam, generating uncredited royalties for an unauthorised party. Deezer reported 75,000 AI-created tracks uploaded daily, comprising 44% of all new music, with 85% identified as fraudulent. Spotify removed over 75 million "spammy" AI-generated tracks, and Michael Smith pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud for earning $8 million from 100,000 AI-generated tracks.
Why it matters
Widespread AI music fraud diverts significant royalties from legitimate artists and degrades streaming service ecosystems. Content platforms and rights holders face increased complexity in verifying content authenticity and managing intellectual property rights. The sheer volume of fraudulent uploads, with Deezer reporting 44% of all new music as AI-generated, indicates a systemic challenge for these entities. This follows the April 6th report of AI clone copyright claims exploiting system vulnerabilities.
