Technology · 31 January 2026
AI bots streaming fake music could cost musicians billions
Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash
A massive high-tech scam involves fraudsters using artificial intelligence to generate music tracks and then deploying bots to repeatedly stream them. This "robots listening to robots" phenomenon allows scammers to rack up illegitimate royalties, effectively stealing revenue from genuine artists. Reports suggest this vast fraud could cost the music industry billions of pounds. Streaming platforms are currently engaged in an escalating battle to detect and block this artificial traffic to protect real musicians' earnings.
Reported by Sky News · How we write briefs