Spotify Creating AI Songs Under Fictitious Artist Names: Ted Gioia

Ted Gioia, a renowned music historian and cultural critic, recently expressed concerns on Rick Beato’s podcast about Spotify‘s increasing reliance on AI technology. While Spotify strives to enhance user experience and services, Gioia highlights the potential negative impact on artists who share their music on the platform. This raises important questions and concerns about the streaming giant.

In a discussion on Rick Beato’s podcast, Ted Gioia raised concerns about Spotify’s utilization of AI to potentially boost their revenue at the expense of artists’ royalties. Furthermore, Ted Gioia alleges that Spotify is creating AI-generated songs and attributing them to fictitious artists. This practice, he argues, allows Spotify to generate revenue from streaming royalties that would otherwise go to human musicians. Additionally, these AI-generated tracks are reportedly occupying valuable spots on editorial playlists, further marginalizing the work of real artists.

‘This is Spotify’s way of using AI. They have AI Songs, They attribute them to people that don’t exist. This allows them to take royalties that would go to musicians and keep them for themselves.’ ‘There this games that are being played, there is no disclosure. What they are doing is not good for the music culture.’

Ted Gioia

Gioia cites the example of Johan Röhr, a Swedish producer who has reportedly amassed over 15 billion streams on Spotify with over 2,700 songs. This staggering figure surpasses the streaming numbers of many legendary artists, including Michael Jackson, Elton John, and ABBA. Johan Röhr, under 656 different aliases, has managed to place his music on more than 140 of Spotify’s Official Editorial Playlists. While Spotify hasn’t commented on these particular claims, it’s worth recognizing that AI’s role in music production is a nuanced and developing topic, raising both exciting possibilities and ethical concerns.

For the full in-depth discussion, check out Rick Beato’s interview with Ted Gioia on YouTube. (Link or video embed below)

Tags: Ted Gioia, Spotify, Rick Baeto, AI, Music Industry, Streaming Services, Johan Röhr, Music Culture