March 18, (THEWILL) — Sony Music says it has requested the removal of more than 135,000 fake songs created by fraudsters impersonating its artistes on streaming platforms.
The company said the fake tracks, generated using artificial intelligence, targeted some of its biggest stars, including Beyoncé, Queen, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, and Mark Ronson.
The company warned that the growing number of AI-generated songs is causing serious harm to artists and their work.
According to Sony Music, the fake tracks cause “direct commercial harm to legitimate recording artists” and often appear when musicians are promoting new releases.
“In the worst cases, [the deepfakes] potentially damage a release campaign or tarnish the reputation of an artist… building off and benefiting from the demand the artist has created and ultimately detracting from what the artist is trying to accomplish,” said Dennis Kooker, president of Sony’s global digital business.
Sony noted that the number of AI-generated fake songs continues to grow as the technology becomes cheaper and more accessible.
Since last March alone, about 60,000 fake tracks linked to its artists have been identified, suggesting the total number online could be much higher.
Industry leaders also raised concerns about streaming fraud, also known as streaming manipulation, where fake or AI-generated songs are uploaded to sites like Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, and Apple Music, and artificially boosted to earn royalties.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said AI has “supercharged” the problem, with estimates suggesting up to 10% of content on streaming platforms could be fake.
Kooker stressed the need for transparency, saying, “Without proper identification, fans can’t distinguish between genuine human creativity versus unauthorized, AI-generated content… Transparency shouldn’t be optional, it’s the foundation of a fair and sustainable music ecosystem.”
Evi Ben Ezaga writes on entertainment, culture, and trending stories.
