Scammers hijack artist pages with fake AI songs

Bad actors use generative AI to create songs, then upload them to real artists' Spotify pages through distribution services like DistroKid. The fake tracks appear as legitimate new releases from the actual artist.

The scam takes just five minutes to execute

Scammers generate an AI song using tools like Suno or Udio, create a fake album cover with AI, sign up for a distribution service, lie about their identity, and check a few boxes. Neither the distributor nor streaming platform catches the fraud.

“it is shockingly easy to post AI generated music under the name of real artists on Spotify. It took us five minutes to do.”

Scammers collect royalties meant for real artists

The fake songs generate streaming revenue that goes directly to the scammer, not the original artist. The payout is often higher than typical AI music because the fake track rides on the artist's established fanbase and profile.

Small and dead artists are most vulnerable

Famous musicians have teams monitoring their pages, but smaller acts and deceased artists lack this protection. Spotify confirmed that unmanaged profiles are especially at risk, and the problem has become particularly gross for dead musicians.

“profiles that aren't actively managed can be especially vulnerable.”

The scale of the problem is exploding

The band Odette Child found over 300 fake AI songs impersonating major acts like Taylor Swift, dead jazz musicians, and random celebrities. Around 50,000 AI-generated songs are uploaded to Spotify daily, making mass fraud far easier than before.

Spotify's defenses are falling short

Spotify introduced a verification badge for non-AI songs and a spam filter, but these tools aren't stopping the fraud. A review tool announced in March remains in limited beta, while artists say the platforms aren't prioritizing real solutions.

“We can just see very clearly that they are not interested in the best possible solution to this problem.”

Platforms promise action but progress stalls

Spotify says it's working with distributors to stop bad submissions at the source. Amazon Music claims it's improving detection and monitoring. However, artists argue these steps are too slow and that real infrastructure is needed to protect creators.