Pirate radio is old news. Now we have pirate playlists of songs claimed to be brand-new tracks found hiding on the official pages of country legends like Blaze Foley and Guy Clark — artists who have been dead for years. Spoiler alert: The songs were created with Generative AI tools and uploaded through TikTok‑owned distributor SoundOn. Still, they managed to fool Spotify’s publishing system and went live without a nod from estates or labels.
“I can clearly tell you that this song is not Blaze, not anywhere near Blaze’s style, at all,” said Craig McDonald of Lost Art Records. “It’s kind of an AI schlock bot, if you will. It has nothing to do with the Blaze…”
When legacy becomes loot
The mislabeled track “Together” briefly sat beside Foley’s bona‑fide catalogue, complete with a synthetic cover image of a blonde stranger crooning into a mic. Similar impostors, stamped with the copyright line Syntax Error, surfaced on Clark’s page and elsewhere on the platform. Deep‑fake watchdog Reality Defender said the audio waves “have indicators that show a higher‑than‑normal probability of AI generation.”
Fans might shrug, but music purists and estate managers see reputational damage. McDonald worries new listeners will assume these algorithmic ballads are authentic. Spotify’s response arrived only after the story broke, according to 404 Media, which broke the story.
“We’ve flagged the issue to SoundOn, the distributor of the content in question,” the company said, “and it has been removed for violating our Deceptive Content policy.”
The music platform has wrestled with AI before. Last month, the fictitious band Velvet Sundown racked up nearly two million spins before admitting it was synthetic. None of these uploads are labelled as AI, and CEO Daniel Ek continues to champion an open‑door policy unless a song directly impersonates an artist, which is the exact scenario now playing out.
“The rise of AI-generated bands and music entering the market points to the fact that tech companies have been training AI models using creative works — largely without authorisation or payment to creators and rights‑holders — in order to directly compete with human artistry,” noted Sophie Jones of the British Phonographic Industry.
A fix Spotify can’t ignore
Stakeholders and listeners aren’t asking for the moon, just a basic gate‑check. McDonald’s suggestion is simple — require a page owner to approve every new release before it appears beside cherished originals. Rival streamer Deezer now tags synthetic tracks, proving the tech exists. Seems like a no-brainer, yet here we are.
Until Spotify adopts similar checks, memorial pages risk turning into digital marionette shows and listener trust may erode song by synthetic song.
“Without such safeguards,” warned Ivors Academy Chief Executive Roberto Neri, “AI risks repeating the same mistakes seen in streaming, where big tech profits while music creators are left behind.”
Sir Paul McCartney himself has strongly opposed permitting AI developers to use creators’ online content to train their models, cautioning that they might facilitate “rip-off” technology that threatens the livelihoods of artists and musicians. Read more here.