Music giant Sony Music says it has requested the removal of more than 135,000 songs by fraudsters impersonating its artists on streaming services.
The so-called deepfakes were created using generative AI and targeted some of the company's biggest acts, who include Beyoncé, Queen, and Harry Styles. The proliferation of such counterfeits causes direct commercial harm to legitimate recording artists, Sony said, and deliberately targets musicians who are promoting a new album.
According to Dennis Kooker, president of Sony's global digital business, In the worst cases, [the deepfakes] potentially damage a release campaign or tarnish the reputation of an artist.
The company noted that the number of songs generated in this manner is increasing as artificial intelligence technology becomes more accessible and affordable. It believes that the 135,000 tracks it has discovered thus far represent only a fraction of the total uploaded to streaming services.
Since last March alone, Sony has identified approximately 60,000 songs falsely purporting to feature its artists. Other acts potentially affected by this fraudulent activity include Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, and Mark Ronson. Kooker emphasized that the demand for artists' new music has driven the creation of these deepfakes.
This alarming trend comes as the music industry's Global Music Report revealed a 6.4% growth in recorded music revenues in a year, highlighting the tension between burgeoning financial success and the risks posed by AI-generated content.
The discussion around deepfakes coincided with the publication of a UK government report into AI regulation. Industry advocates are calling for clearer labels on AI-generated content to protect the integrity of artists and their creative works.
As the music world grapples with streaming fraud and the challenges surrounding AI, industry leaders believe that implementing tools to identify fake or AI-generated music is a necessary step forward towards a fair and sustainable music ecosystem.
