Sony Music has asked for removal of over 260,000 AI deepfake songs

Sony Music has requested the removal of more than 260,000 AI deepfake tracks from digital platforms, Billboard has confirmed. The figure is nearly double the one reported in March, when the company said it had sent 135,000 takedown requests. The news was first reported by the Financial Times.

A Sony Music spokesperson told Billboard the tracks imitate artists' voices and likenesses without permission, and that the problem is "happening at scale." The company says every fraudulent stream takes money from artists and songwriters, and it expects platforms to act quickly and stop the same content from reappearing.

The United States has no federal law protecting an artist's voice or likeness from deepfakes, only a patchwork of state rules. The industry backs the NO FAKES Act, which Senator Ted Cruz blocked on the Senate floor last week, citing concerns about satire and political commentary. According to Deezer, more than 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks are uploaded to its service every day.