Name: Musicians raise alarm over AI scammers
Uploaded: 2025-12-17T15:30:14.552Z
Duration: 1 min 44 s
Description: If a recent song by your favorite artist sounded slightly unusual, there may be a reason: musicians are warning that AI-generated tracks are appearing on streaming platforms while being falsely credited to their names.

If a recent song by your favorite artist sounded slightly unusual, there may be a reason: musicians are warning that AI-generated tracks are appearing on streaming platforms while being falsely credited to their names.

British folk musician Emily Portman and Australian musician Paul Bender have reported that AI-generated albums were falsely released under their names on platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music. The fraudulent releases, created by scammers using advanced AI music generators, have misled fans and raised concerns about the ease with which music can be uploaded without proper identity verification.

Both musicians criticized the lack of basic security measures in the music industry, such as passwords or two-factor authentication for uploads. In response, thousands have signed a petition urging streaming platforms to enhance security, and companies like Spotify and Apple say they are working with distributors to better detect fraudulent content.

Musicians raise alarm over AI scammers

Wake up, wake up, you're a drowsy dream British folk musician Emily Portman got quite a shock in July. A fan texted her congratulating her on her new album. The problem? She hadn't released one, not since 2022. Yet on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, a new release appeared under her name. On closer listening, I realised that it wasn't a real artist. It was an AI-generated album. Portman said many fans were fooled, even though the tracks had pristine perfection and hollow lyrics. It's the result of increasingly sophisticated AI-powered music generators and scammers looking to collect royalty payments. Australian musician Paul Bender is another victim. He was, to say the least, unimpressed by the AI-generated tracks claiming to be his group. Bender says scammers can easily approach distribution companies, which then upload the music to streaming platforms without identity checks. He says the music industry is failing to keep up with basic security measures. Every other thing you do on the internet needs a password or two-factor authentication or something to do any sort of transaction. As soon as you have that, then this whole sort of scam just sort of disappears. Thousands of people have now signed a petition urging platforms to step up security. Both Spotify and Apple say they are working with distributors to better detect fraud.

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