Sony Music requests removal of over 260,000 AI deepfake songs

Sony Music is intensifying its fight against streaming fraud, having requested platforms to remove over 260,000 tracks by the end of September, nearly double the 135,000 at the end of March. Sony says generative AI deepfake songs that imitate its artists' voices and images without permission are appearing on a large scale, involving current and past artists such as Harry Styles, Adele, Britney Spears, Queen, and Michael Jackson. Beyond deepfakes, streaming platforms are also flooded with AI-generated tracks mass-produced for repeated bot plays. Dennis Kooker, President of Global Digital Business at Sony Music, said fraudulent plays could account for 10% of tracks on streaming platforms, and record label executives estimate they cause up to $2.2 billion in losses to the industry annually. Deezer said its platform receives about 90,000 AI-generated songs uploaded daily, accounting for more than half of new music, and that up to 85% of plays of fully AI-generated tracks last year were fraudulent.