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Sony Music has requested the removal of more than 135,000 AI-generated songs from streaming platforms, alleging they impersonate its artists. These "deepfakes," created using generative AI, targeted major acts including Beyoncé, Queen, and Harry Styles. Sony stated that these counterfeits cause "direct commercial harm" and frequently target musicians during new album promotions.
"In the worst cases, the deepfakes potentially damage a release campaign or tarnish the reputation of an artist," said Dennis Kooker, president of Sony's global digital business.
The company says the number of songs generated in this fashion is only increasing as artificial intelligence technology becomes cheaper and easier to access.
It believes the 135,000 tracks it has discovered to date represents just a percentage of the total uploaded to streaming services. Since last March alone, it has identified some 60,000 songs falsely purporting to feature artists from their roster. Other acts who may have been affected include Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson.
"The problem with deepfakes is they are a demand-driven event," said Kooker. "They are taking advantage of the fact an artist is out there promoting their music.
"That is when deepfakes are at their worst - building off and benefiting from the demand the artist has created and ultimately detracting from what the artist is trying to accomplish.”
The revelation came at the launch of the music industry's Global Music Report in London on Wednesday.
Figures released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) showed that recorded music revenues grew by 6.4% last year, reaching $31.7 billion.
It was the 11th consecutive year of growth, after streaming subscriptions rescued the industry from a period of piracy and financial decline.
The UK remained the world's third largest music market, while China overtook Germany as the fourth biggest, having entered the top 10 less than a decade ago. Taylor Swift
was the biggest artist of 2025, and had the world's most popular album with The Life Of A Showgirl.
The music industry event coincided with Wednesday's publication of a report into the regulation of AI by the UK government.
