One of the music industry’s biggest challenges today is the increasingly large volume of AI-generated content on streaming platforms.
In April, Spotify rival Deezer disclosed that more than 20,000 AI-generated tracks are being delivered to its platform alone every day – around double the 10,000 daily AI uploads Deezer reported in January.
The flood of low-cost, low-quality algorithm-produced tracks to music streaming services risks diluting royalty payments and reducing discovery opportunities for artists.
Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier said today (June 20) that the platform has “detected a significant uptick in delivery of AI-generated music only in the past few months”, adding: “We see no sign of it slowing down.”
One way Deezer is addressing this influx of AI-generated content is by introducing what it claims to be “the world’s first” AI tagging system for music streaming.
Deezer launched an AI detection tool in January after filing two patent applications for the technology in December.
The company says that this tool can detect 100% AI-generated music from the “most prolific generative models” such as Suno and Udio.
Using its new tagging system, Deezer says it will now also clearly show its users which albums include fully AI-generated tracks.
Deezer also says that it excludes fully AI-generated tracks from algorithmic and editorial recommendations, “in order to minimize any negative impact on artist remuneration and the user experience”.
According to Deezer, fully AI-generated music currently accounts for only “a small fraction” of total streams on its platform — approximately 0.5%.
However, the company says “it’s evident that the primary purpose of uploading these tracks to streaming platforms is fraudulent,” reporting that up to 70% of the streams generated by the fully AI-generated tracks uploaded to its platform each day are fraudulent.
The company insists that “when detecting stream manipulation of any kind, [it] excludes the streams from the royalty payments.”
“We’ve detected a significant uptick in delivery of AI generated music only in the past few months and we see no sign of it slowing down.”
Alexis Lanternier, Deezer
Streaming fraud continues to be a major headache for music rightsholders.
“We urge everyone to combat the fraud and manipulation that is a worldwide problem in falsifying real revenue, skewing charts and clouding accurate statistics,” he said.
Stringer also took aim at “functional audio,” which he argued, “clogs systems through its quantity [and] hinders people from accessing and de-values the high-quality music that we clearly provide”.
He added: “Taken together, these activities are artificially siphoning billions of dollars away from artists and rights holders every year.”
Deezer has been among the most aggressive digital service providers (DSPs) when it comes to detecting AI-generated content, “noise” tracks meant to skim royalty revenue, and other low-quality content.
A report released late last year by CISAC, the global umbrella group for authors’ societies, estimated that AI could “cannibalize” up to 24% of music creators’ revenues by 2028.
“We are also clear in our commitment to safeguarding the rights of artists and songwriters at a time where copyright law is being put into question in favor of training AI models.”
Alexis Lanternier, Deezer
According to Deezer’s Lanternier, the rise of AI-generated music is “an industry-wide issue” and Deezer is “committed to leading the way in increasing transparency by helping music fans identify which albums include AI music”.
He added: “AI is not inherently good or bad, but we believe a responsible and transparent approach is key to building trust with our users and the music industry.
“We are also clear in our commitment to safeguarding the rights of artists and songwriters at a time where copyright law is being put into question in favor of training AI models.”Music Business Worldwide
