30 Jun 2025

Ghosts in the machine: Fighting the presence of AI on Spotify

From Nights, 9:25 pm on 30 June 2025

Paul Bender is a three-time Grammy nominated bassist. When he's not performing with Australian jazz-funk band Hiatus Koiyote, he releases music through his side project, The Sweet Enoughs. 

One day, songs started being released under The Sweet Enoughs' profile. They were not good songs - but more importantly, they weren't Paul's songs.

Through exploiting a distribution loop, AI-generated songs were being uploaded against artists' will, and it remains foggy who's behind the ghost songs.

Paul joins Emile Donovan.

Headphones are on the screen of a smartphone, which displays the logo from the music streaming service Spotify.

Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP