Spotify reportedly deletes thousands of AI-generated songs

The battle between the music industry and artificial intelligence (AI) continues as reports claim Spotify is taking down AI-generated music. 

A Financial Times (FT) report revealed that the music streaming platform had removed 7% of songs created by the AI music startup Boomy, amounting to “tens of thousands” of songs.

Spotify is also said to be ramping up its policing of the platform in light of the situation.

This comes after Spotify and other streaming services began receiving complaints of fraud and clutter on the platform. Music industry giant Universal Music Group (UMG) alerted streaming service providers of “suspicious streaming activity” on Boomy tracks, according to FT sources.

Ultimately, the Boomy songs were removed due to the suspected “artificial streaming” of bots posing as listeners, Spotify commented, saying:

“Artificial streaming is a longstanding, industry-wide issue that Spotify is working to stamp out across our service.”

Representatives from Boomy said the platform is “categorically against” all manipulation or artificial streaming of any kind. 

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Lucian Grainge, CEO at Universal Music Group commented to investors:

“The recent explosive development in generative AI will, if left unchecked, both increase the flood of unwanted content on platforms and create rights issues with respect to existing copyright law”.

Last month, UMG emailed streaming services, including Spotify, to block AI services from accessing music catalogs for training purposes. UMG has also sent requests “left and right” to remove AI-generated songs from platforms.

While music industry giants are fighting to control AI, other artists like Grimes are championing the technology. The musician permitted creators to use her voice and be a “guinea pig” for AI music creation as long as a small set of rules were followed, and royalties were split. 

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