Receiving numerous complaints about fraud, Spotify has removed tens of thousands of songs by AI (artificial intelligence) music startup Boomy from its platform.
The use of AI to create songs is not new in the music industry, but recently it started to cause a stir when the “craze” of AI exploded. Boomy’s songs were removed because Spotify suspected the company was “artificial streaming,” i.e. using bots posing as humans to increase the streaming and audience numbers of the songs.
Boomy allows users to choose a variety of styles or descriptions to create songs using AI, such as lo-fi or rap. Users can mix and match or record their own voices to add to the song. The company even offers a text-to-image feature, allowing users to create cover photos using AI.
Through Boomy, users can release their songs and albums on the streaming platform. However, Boomy notes they may change users’ songs to comply with the service’s guidelines. The company says it owns the copyrights to all songs created with Boomy, although users still receive 80% of the royalty fees. Besides, the company still allows users to use their songs for most commercial and non-commercial purposes like on TikTok or in podcasts
According to a report from the Financial Times, Spotify has removed about 7% of the songs uploaded by Boomy, which is estimated to be in the tens of thousands of songs. Spotify said it was working to solve the “artificial streaming” problem.
Michael Nash – Digital Director of Universal Music (UMG) shared that the company would welcome if its partners could carefully monitor music streaming platforms.
UMG CEO Lucian Grainge told investors that if AI grows unchecked, platforms will be flooded with content that violates copyright laws.
In April, UMG emailed streaming services, including Spotify, to ask them to block AI services from accessing music catalogs for AI training.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says he’s never seen anything as surprising as the pace at which AI technology is evolving.
Currently, Boomy continues to release new music on Spotify, and the two sides are in talks to restore the songs that have been removed. Boomy said it stands firmly against any form of manipulation or artificial streaming and will work with industry partners to address this
