Distrokid - GoKawiil

DistroKid removes artist songs without warning amid UMG lawsuit response

DistroKid confirmed to The Verge that it has been taking down musicians' songs as a direct response to a September lawsuit from UMG accusing the platform of running an 'AI-slop pipeline.' Several artists, including musician McGwire and rapper Insane Ian, say legitimate, non-AI tracks were removed without prior notice, and that getting an explanation required lengthy battles with automated support.

theverge.com · 2026-10-10

AI-generated fake songs are being planted on real artists' Spotify pages

A 404 Media investigation found scammers can upload AI-generated tracks and pass them off as new releases from existing artists on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and other platforms. By exploiting a loophole in digital distribution services like DistroKid, bad actors simply falsely claim to be the artist, letting the fake songs land directly on real catalogs and pull in streaming royalties meant for the original musician.

engadget.com · 2026-09-17