• According to reports, Spotify has removed tens of thousands of AI-generated songs from its music streaming platform.
• The majority of the songs come from generative AI company Boomy, with it accounting for seven percent of removed content.
• Spotify adds that AI-generated content is also leveraging bots to illegally boost numbers and dupe the revenue system.

AI-generated songs were thrust into the zeitgeist thanks to a viral song that mimicked well known musicians Drake and The Weeknd. Now this type of content appears to be flooding streaming platforms like Spotify, forcing the company to take measures and remove said songs.

According to the Financial Times (paywall), Spotify had to remove tens of thousands of AI-generated songs, with one company in particular being cited for contravening Spotify’s policies. The company in question is Boomy, which specialises in AI-generated content for music.

Spotify says that it’s removed seven percent of AI-generated content from its platform from Boomy alone, indicating just how pervasive the technology has become.

The removal comes after Universal Music and other record labels alerted the streaming platform to some suspicious activity on Boomy created songs, with numbers and the amount of listens in particularly appearing odd.

After a quick investigation, Spotify is believed to have found a high number of bot activity on said songs, which have aided to boost numbers. Given that Spotify shares a percentage of revenue with artists based on the number of listens, this of course has presented a problem.

“Artificial streaming is a longstanding, industry-wide issue that Spotify is working to stamp out across our service,” the platform told the Financial Times in an official statement.

“When we identify or are alerted to potential cases of stream manipulation, we mitigate their impact by taking action that may include the removal of streaming numbers and the withholding of royalties. This allows us to protect royalty payouts for honest, hardworking artists,” it added.

While there is some grey areas when it comes to AI-generated songs, especially when it comes to whether it’s allowed on platform like Spotify and Apple Music, it appears the use of bits to boost listens and by extension revenue, is the real issue at hand here.

Earlier this week for example, Boomy tweeted out that, “We are pleased to share that curated delivery to Spotify of new releases by Boomy artists has been re-enabled. Supporting our artists and creators who use the Boomy platform is our top priority, and we greatly appreciate your patience these past few days.”

Either way, if you plan to use AI to mimic artists and create music, prepare to be scrutinised.

[Image – Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash]