If the epidemic of Artificial Intelligence-based music being uploaded to streaming services wasn’t already bad enough, now there are reports of AI-generated songs being uploaded to dead artists’ pages on Spotify.
According to 404 Media, the situation was first noticed last week when Blaze Foley – a country/folk musician most well-known for the song “Clay Pigeons” – released a new single called “Together.” The only catch is… and you guessed it… Foley has been dead since 1989, when he was murdered by a friend’s son, whom he suspected of theft.
The track, which has since been taken down, was described as “vaguely” sounding “like a new, slow country song” that was very different from Foley’s music and featured an AI-generated cover image of a man who did not resemble Foley singing into a microphone.
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Craig McDonald, who runs Foley’s music distribution and manages his streaming pages for Lost Art Records, says the track was uploaded to the musician’s Spotify page without permission. “I can clearly tell you that this song is not Blaze, not anywhere near Blaze’s style, at all,” he told 404 Media. “It’s kind of an AI schlock bot, if you will.”
“It’s harmful to Blaze’s standing that this happened,” McDonald continued. “It’s kind of surprising that Spotify doesn’t have a security fix for this type of action, and I think the responsibility is all on Spotify. They could fix this problem. One of their talented software engineers could stop this fraudulent practice in its tracks if they had the will to do so. And I think they should take that responsibility and do something quickly.”
In a statement via email, a Spotify spokesperson confirmed that the song had been taken down and told 404 Media that the song had been “removed for violating our Deceptive Content policy.” The spokesperson also claimed that the song’s distributor was listed as SoundOn, which is a company owned by TikTok.
One Streamer is Actively Combating AI-Generated Music
While AI-generated music is on the rise across streaming platforms, one service is making a genuine effort to counter this trend. ROKK, a heavy metal and rock-focused streaming company, has announced that it is implementing a policy to help combat AI-generated bands by making them subject to human review procedures.
On a track-by-track basis, users can report music they believe is computer-generated. Once a track is flagged, a member of ROKK personnel will review it and decide if it meets the qualifications for deletion. It’s certainly a big undertaking, but the company deserves respect for doing its part to protect true art.