AI-Generated Songs Flood Streaming Platforms, Bypassing Copyright Protections
A surge of AI-generated songs featuring similar names, such as "Angel Above Me" and "Run Run River," draws inspiration from Stick Figure's 2019 track "Angels Above Me." These songs have garnered millions of streams on platforms like Spotify and TikTok, even topping the iTunes charts in Germany and Austria, frequently without acknowledgment of the original co-writers. In 2025, an astonishing 106,000 songs were uploaded each day, with spam-filtering measures proving ineffective. The legal implications surrounding AI remixes remain ambiguous, prompting Spotify to eliminate over 75 million spammy tracks last year. Universal Music Group has licensed TikTok for AI safeguards and collaborated with Spotify for AI-enhanced remixes. A Luminate report indicates a waning interest in AI music, yet unauthorized remixes negatively impact the earnings of human musicians.
Key facts
- Songs with near-identical names, lyrics, and melodies went viral on streaming platforms late last month.
- The tracks are based on Stick Figure's 2019 song 'Angels Above Me'.
- Versions hit No. 1 on iTunes in Germany and Austria.
- Luminate reports 106,000 songs uploaded daily to streaming platforms in 2025.
- Spotify removed over 75 million spammy tracks in the past year.
- Spotify introduced a verification-badge system for artists meeting authenticity criteria.
- Universal Music Group announced a licensing deal with TikTok expanding AI protections.
- UMG also partnered with Spotify to allow AI-assisted remixes of certain songs.
Entities
Artists
- Stick Figure
- Weird Al Yankovic
- Ariana Grande
- Kendrick Lamar
- Elliott Smith
- Timbaland
- Kanye West
- Diplo
- Adam Mosseri
- Sam Altman
- Alex Noström
- Liz Pelly
Institutions
- The Atlantic
- Spotify
- TikTok
- iTunes
- Luminate
- Suno
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- OpenAI
- Universal Music Group
- Apple Music
- YouTube
Locations
- Germany
- Austria