Is Spotify Streaming Unauthorized AI Knockoffs of Dead Musicians?

And other updates on recent articles

I’ve criticized Spotify on many occasions. But when it recently took steps to block the fake AI band Velvet Sundown, I celebrated. That unexpected move gave me hope that the company might act more responsibly in the future.

Hah!—I was dead wrong. And Spotify’s latest escapade may be its worst yet.

“Spotify is publishing new, AI-generated songs on the official pages of artists who died years ago without the permission of their estates or record labels,” reports 404 Media.

This scandal came to light because of an AI song attributed to Blaze Foley, who died in 1989. The bogus track is accompanied by an AI-generated image of a man who bears no resemblance to the singer.

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What’s going on here? Is this just ignorance or carelessness at Spotify? Or does it represent something more sinister—another example of the company’s willingness to deceive users in the pursuit of profits?

These scams must stop. If Spotify doesn’t fix this mess immediately, courts should intervene.

But the dead musician scandal is just a start—because other bizarre things are happening at Spotify.

The whole situation is positively surreal.

For example:

• The CEO of Spotify now has a second job—as chairman of an AI military start-up.

• Drug dealers are allegedly selling their wares via Spotify podcasts.

• And now this same company—infamous for squeezing musicians—has decided to launch a music awards show.

If you’re confused, so am I.

I’d welcome some sign that this company’s leadership possesses any consistent core values beyond profit maximization. But I’m not holding my breath.

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UPDATE: A spokesperson for Spotify has now reached out to me with this response:

“We've flagged the issue to SoundOn, the distributor of the content in question, and it has been removed. This violates Spotify’s deceptive content policies, which prohibit impersonation intended to mislead, such as replicating another creator’s name, image, or description, or posing as a person, brand, or organization in a deceptive manner. This is not allowed. We take action against licensors and distributors who fail to police for this kind of fraud and those who commit repeated or egregious violations can and have been permanently removed from Spotify.”

I commend the company for doing this, and also for stating its position in very clear terms.

So maybe I wasn’t wrong last week, when I celebrated the steps Spotify took with regard to the Velvet Sundown situation, and anticipated a more responsible stance toward AI in the future.

We will continue to watch this situation here.