Sony Music Has Requested the Removal of Over 260,000 AI Deepfake Songs From Digital Platforms

The major music company says the problem is growing fast and that the deepfake issue "harms artists, misleads fans and undermines the ethical use of AI." Getty Images Trending on Billboard Sony Music has requested the removal of more than 260,000 AI deepfake tracks from digital platforms, Billboard has confirmed. That’s nearly double the number reported in March, when Sony revealed it had sent a total of 135,000 takedown requests to date. Now, the major music company says the deepfake issue “harms artists, misleads fans and undermines the ethical use of AI.” The news was first reported by the Financial Times. Related A Sony Music spokesperson tells Billboard that the generative AI deepfake tracks it issued takedown notices for “imitate our artists’ voices and likenesses without permission.” They continued: “It’s almost double what we saw earlier this year. It’s happening at scale, and harms artists, misleads fans and undermines the ethical use of AI. Every fraudulent stream takes money away from the artists and songwriters whose music is being listened to. We will keep enforcing our artists’ rights and expect platforms to act quickly and to prevent the same content from reappearing, but it’s becoming an uphill struggle. We’re working with partners across the industry to detect and stop it.” Today, there is no federal law in the United States to prevent or stop an artist’s name, image, likeness and/or voice from being used in an AI deepfake or other soundalike. Instead, there is an uneven patchwork of protection at the state level that varies slightly depending on where the deepfakes originate from. To fill in these gaps, Billboard reported in 2023 that the majors and streaming services were working together to create a notice-and-takedown procedure that would allow trusted labels to get deepfakes of their artists removed. Though it’s a voluntary stopgap, since it was enacted, that measure has helped companies like Sony keep the growing number of deepfakes at bay. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the music industry has been pushing for new nationwide protection with the NO FAKES Act, which would give individuals the right to authorize the use of their voices and likenesses in AI deepfakes for the first time. The bill also contains carveouts for news, parody, documentary and sports, among other exclusions. NO FAKES was first introduced as a draft bill in 2023, and formally introduced for the first time in 2024. Since then, the music biz has relentlessly worked to get it passed. Last week, the bill was brought to the Senate floor and received nearly unanimous support apart from Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who blocked it while citing concerns about the use of a person’s image in satire or political commentary. According to French streaming service Deezer, more than 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks are uploaded to its site every day. While only a fraction of those uploads qualify as AI deepfakes, the problem of artistic impersonation is a growing one, and labels are picking up the job of policing them. Daily newsletters straight to your inbox Sign Up More From Pro