- Music
- 29 Oct 26
Gemma Hayes on AI fakes: "Surely they should have systems in place to spot fake music"
Platforms like YouTube and Spotify allow AI-generated content, as long as it is labeled as such.
Gemma Hayes called on music platforms to take down impersonative AI-generated music after a fake account posted under her name on various streaming platforms. Although Spotify removed the fake music, Hayes argued that it should be platforms' responsibility to remove this type of content, not artists'.
The alt rock singer and guitarist from Tipperary won a Meteor Ireland Music Award in 2006 and a Hot Press Award for Best Female Artist in 2002. She is a member of the bands The Cake Sale, Printer Clips and Trio.
According to Hayes, the AI music was "written by someone allegedly called Sri Wayuningsih allegedly from Indonesia".
Last month, Spotify reported it had removed over 75 million "spammy tracks" over the past 12 months. Last week, it said it had removed around 50 million AI 'slop' songs from its recommendations over the same period.
The streaming platform has introduced badges to label AI creators and verify human artists, but allows music generated by or enhanced with AI to stay up. As Spotify pays artists from a finite pool, real artists lose out when fake music gains listeners.
"[W]e leave those creative decisions to artists themselves while continuing our work to protect them against spam, impersonation, and deception, and providing listeners with greater transparency about the music they hear", reads a statement by Spotify issued last month. They also promise to "keep [updates] coming as the tech evolves", with a spam filter and more detailed credits for AI use in the works.
"While we lean into AI’s potential, we also want to make sure we have the right protections and guardrails in place", reads a statement by YouTube, meanwhile. Like Spotify, they require creators to disclose AI usage, but have not banned it outright.
Policy updates "make it possible to request the removal of AI-generated or other synthetic or altered content that simulates an identifiable individual", although imitations of public figures may have "a higher bar" to be taken down, YouTube says.
