Deezer, unlike Spotify, is fighting back against AI-driven music platforms.
Songs created by AI tools like Suno and Udio have flooded Deezer, but the French streaming platform is fighting back.
Deezer announced on Wednesday that its users add over 20,000 AI-generated tracks each day to its platform. This bot-made music now accounts for 18% of the “total uploaded contents” — almost twice the 10% figure that the company reported in January. Aurelian Herault is Deezer’s chief innovator. He said that the issue of AI-generated slop music shows “no signs of slowing down.” In January, Deezer released a tool to detect AI-generated songs. The algorithm can identify artificially generated songs created using popular generative AI models such as Suno and Udio that turn text prompts into music. In January, the company announced that it would also develop a system of tagging for AI-generated content.
Deezer’s tool stands out among an industry that seems to be largely turning a blind-eye to the issue.
Spotify, a rival platform, has not yet launched an equivalent tool for tracking AI-generated songs. It has not made any public attempts to label this content.
CEO Daniel Ek had previously stated tracks created using AI were fair game for the platform – unless they mimicked actual artists. Spotify is not doing a good job of identifying orthese AI imitations.
Other streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal have been virtually silent on the subject.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that popular streaming music platforms are sitting on the sidelines. There are no laws regulating the flow of AI-generated music, nor is there a consensus about what types of artificial music are acceptable.
A group of US record companies sued Suno and Udio last year, alleging “massive” copyright infringement. However, both companies claim that the training of their models on copyrighted songs falls under “fair usage,” a defense commonly used by AI firms.
“Generative artificial intelligence has the potential to positively affect music creation and consumption. However, we must approach the development of this technology with care and responsibility in order to protect the rights and revenue of artists and writers, while maintaining transparency for fans,” Got Herault.
